Addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on India’s Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, spelt out important policy directives for his government which was swept back to power in the 2019 General Elections. Amongst the electrifying announcements made was a pitch to double India’s economy to USD 5 trillion over the next five years. This was truly an inspirational announcement for an aspirational India, but the government as well as the people of India will have to outdo themselves to achieve this target.
It took India six decades post independence to become a USD one trillion economy. Thereafter, it took just seven years to double the economy to USD 2 trillion. With the Indian economy at USD 2.8 trillion (June 2019), India would require to grow at 12 percent annually if the ambitious target of USD 5 trillion is to be achieved by 2024. That is indeed a tall order, but not something that cannot be achieved. With the current global meltdown, and the Indian economy growing at just above 6 percent, there is evidently a need for transformational reforms in multiple sectors, to create an enabling climate for growth in agriculture, industry, manufacturing, power, education, health care, services and a host of other sectors. An enabling climate would also need effective, transparent and speedy justice delivery mechanisms, something for which the Indian State is not known for.
As of now, the challenges are indeed many. India is a large country with pockets of excellence, but many areas remain under-resourced and under-powered. There are also concerns with respect to an ever burgeoning population, which wipes out any gains made in providing even the basic level of facilities to the people of India. The cities are thus bursting at the seams, the roads are jam packed and the growth of the population outstrips all efforts to give gainful employment to the millions who join the work force every year. There is also the challenge of addressing internal armed conflict within the country, which hinders economic growth.
But perhaps the most serious challenge remains in the capability and capacity of India’s bureaucracy to deliver results on ground. A complete overhaul of India’s bureaucracy is needed as it is still imbued with an arrogance reminiscent of the British Raj, and a mindset of the license control raj which afflicted the country till the last decade of the twentieth century. Unless India’s civil services are more aligned to the needs of a twenty-first century India, the goal of achieving a USD 5 trillion economy by 2024 will be just a flash in the pan.
Published in India Foundation Journal, September - October 2019
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