India has set an ambitious goal of becoming a developed country by 2047, the centenary of its independence. In an article provided to CivilNet by the Embassy of India in Armenia on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of India’s independence, former Indian Ambassador to France Dr. Mohan Kumar outlines the economic and social changes he sees as needed to achieve that goal.
Kumar, currently dean and professor at O.P. Jindal Global University, argues that becoming a developed nation — or Viksit Bharat — will require more than rapid economic growth. India will need to expand international trade and investment, create jobs, improve education and healthcare, and pursue a lower-carbon development model.
India’s government has framed its long-term development agenda around Viksit Bharat 2047, a vision for transforming the country by the 100th anniversary of independence. Kumar argues that defining what a developed India would actually look like is as important as setting the goal.
India is already the world’s fourth-largest economy by gross domestic product, according to Kumar, but its economic output remains relatively modest for a population approaching 1.5 billion. He argues that India should aim for an economy of at least $10 trillion.
Trade and foreign investment would be central to reaching that target. Kumar says India needs to substantially increase its share of international trade and global exports while attracting considerably more foreign direct investment.
For that to happen, the government would need to pursue “deep-seated economic reforms” in areas including land, labor, power, agriculture, infrastructure and regulation, he writes.
But economic expansion alone would not make India a developed country. Growth also needs to reach lower-income groups and address economic inequality. India has introduced major welfare programs, including the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, but employment should become a central priority for both the federal and state governments.
“Job creation for the youth must become a national mantra,” he writes. With the government and formal private sector unable to provide all the jobs needed, Kumar argues that India should create conditions that encourage young people to become entrepreneurs and employers rather than depend solely on existing jobs. He also warns that current levels of economic inequality are “unsustainable.”
Skills, healthcare and sustainable growth
India’s large and relatively young population is often viewed as one of its major economic advantages. But Kumar argues this demographic dividend will materialize only if workers have the skills an increasingly knowledge-based economy requires.
He points to an education system that relies heavily on rote learning and says many graduates enter the labor market without immediately employable skills. Vocational training, closer cooperation between universities and industry, and technological skills, including artificial intelligence, should therefore become priorities.
“A population that is close to 1.5 billion can be a demographic dividend for India,” Kumar writes, but only if people are “skilled enough to face the challenges of a knowledge economy.”
Healthcare presents another challenge. India has expanded healthcare infrastructure and increasingly incorporated digital technology into the sector, while government initiatives such as Ayushman Bharat have sought to broaden access to medical care.
Medical college seats have more than doubled since 2014, Kumar notes, and India has also sought to establish itself as a global destination for medical tourism.
However, public healthcare spending remains below desired levels, while chronic illnesses, particularly heart disease and diabetes, pose growing challenges. Kumar says India needs to continue expanding its public health infrastructure while making healthcare more accessible, affordable and focused on quality.
India’s path toward developed-country status will also depend on how it manages the environmental consequences of economic growth.
Kumar argues that India should avoid replicating the carbon-intensive development models historically followed by industrialized economies. Instead, he says the country has an opportunity to pursue a “low-carbon pathway to a high-income economy based on sustainable development.”
That approach should not simply be a response to international pressure over climate change, he adds. India should pursue sustainable development “because the people of this country deserve it as a matter of right.”
Kumar concludes that India is well positioned to achieve its Viksit Bharat goal, but doing so will require coordinated government action and sustained reforms across several sectors.
“By any reckoning, the next twenty years will be the most crucial period in India’s history,” he writes.
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