While the credit rating of India was hit by its nuclear weapons tests in 1998 , it has since been raised to investment level in 2003 by Standard & Poor 's ( S&P ) and Moody 's . India experienced high growth rates , averaging 9 % from 2003 to 2007 . Growth then moderated in 2008 due to the global financial crisis . In 2003 , Goldman Sachs predicted that India 's GDP in current prices would overtake France and Italy by 2020 , Germany , UK and Russia by 2025 and Japan by 2035 , making it the third-largest economy of the world , behind the US and China . India is often seen by most economists as a rising economic superpower which will play a major role in the 21st-century global economy
nuclear weapons tests in 1998
Pokhran-II
Economy of India