Roadmap to Viksit Bharat

India must combine higher GDP growth, private-sector investment, R&D, domestic consumption and patriotic unity, to reach Viksit Bharat by 2047

The certainty of the targeted schedule to be a developed nation by 2047, is dependent on the performance of both, ourselves and the government. We will definitely fail if we depend only on the government, but we must continue contributing to the development of the country

There is no doubt that we work for the betterment of our own lives, but do we also work for the betterment of our country? The answer is in the negative for most of us, except for some pleasant exceptions. The country moves on two wheels: good governance by the state and the active participation of its people.

Today, we are the fourth-largest economy, and that proves we have the potential to move further up and become a developed nation by 2047. Our GDP has remained stagnant between 6 per cent and 8 per cent for the last few years, and on average is around 7 per cent. We will in no way reach the position of a developed country if our GDP remains below 9 per cent from now until 2047. According to Morgan Stanley, the leading international financial firm, we have to push our GDP to a minimum of 12 per cent if we plan to be a developed economy in a short period of almost 20 years. We are the most populous country in the world, and our per capita income is still low compared to developed countries. This limitation requires a harder push.

Major boost in GDP needed

The push upwards from the government has a budgetary limitation. For FY 2025–26, the government has budgeted capital expenditure of `11.40 lakh crore (Central Budget), which is ambitious and praiseworthy, but it may still not be adequate for our scheduled target of Viksit Bharat by 2047. The private sector has to come forward aggressively too. As per the World Bank report, investment by the private sector is around 22 per cent of GDP; in 2007–08 it was around 27 per cent.

It is disappointing that the private sector is lagging behind desired expectations. The private sector has its reasons for not increasing investments. The reasons may look logical — growth in consumption has not met expectations, there is uncertainty in the international market due to wars and tariffs imposed by the United States, and labour laws are not very conducive. But, the fact also remains that the private sector is averse to risk-taking and wants quick profit. Frankly speaking, except in a few sectors, our goods are not competitive in the global market, and even smaller countries like Vietnam, South Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia give a good fight to our goods.

Private sector participation

For the quicker rise of India our private sector has a big role to play and our GDP should not be mainly dependent on government investment. There is no doubt that the private sector operates to earn profit first and cannot keep its capital blocked for a long time, but nation-building cannot be sidelined. To illustrate, see how the Tatas started their business. They were traders to begin with, and once they generated sufficient capital they started investing in core sectors for the benefit of the country without harming company profitability. Tata Steel, Tata Power, etc., are instances of such endeavours. In this context, the big conglomerates today should also shape their business so that the country benefits from capital expenditure–created assets. There is nothing wrong if the big conglomerates serve their shareholders with trading and malls, while also starting some big manufacturing bases to serve the country.

Except in communist countries, the biggest companies in the world are in the private sector. America is America today because of the private sector, and along with America their privatesector operators have also become very rich, like Elon Musk. The need of the hour is that our government should become a good facilitator, and our private sector should revive the animal spirit.

"All the stakeholders of the country have to act in total synchronisation and then, and only then, can we win the game. The glue of love for the country will make us all happier and lead to the status of a developed country"

R&D should be given priority

For becoming a developed country another parameter is research and development. Western developed countries are those that invested in research and innovation earlier, and brought the Industrial Revolution first, while India and many countries of the Global South were struggling with slavery and poverty. The one exception is China, which in a short time since the 1980s invested in research and is now the second-richest country.

China is not slipping and today its lowcost AI startups are giving a tough fight to big US technology companies. In contrast, our AI efforts are only on the periphery when the modern economy is AI dependent. Our flagship IT sector, without AI, is suffering and there have been job cuts.

India has been on the rise as its R&D spending has almost doubled to Rs 1,27,380 crore between 2010–11 and 2020–21, but it is still too low at 0.64–0.70 per cent of GDP. The key challenges include low private-sector contribution, and the brain drain of key technocrats. We have made some progress in space technology but still have a long way to go. The contribution of the private sector in R&D is just 36.4 per cent of the total spend. India ranked 39th in the Global Innovation Index 2024.

There is also a weakness in the lack of collaboration between public research, universities and the private sector. What is urgent is innovation for R&D. In China, DeepSeek, for illustration, has come about due to discoveries by big companies there like Alibaba and Tencent. In the USA, big companies contribute substantially to R&D. In India, we have to really hunt for big private contributors for research and for the setting up of major research laboratories. Our rich and big companies have to wake up.

Our bright youngsters should also think about whether to go to the West for big money to create assets there or to serve our motherland. Our people are heading big technology companies in America and involving themselves in R&D there, when we wish that they should also give some of their experience here. We all, including citizens, companies, NRIs and PIOs, have to contribute to develop India.

Policies should be flexible

Last but not least, our government has to play a central role as the captain of a ship for the smooth sailing of the country to its calibrated target. The government here means, along with the central government, all the state governments—if the propellers of a ship are not rotating in tune together, the ship cannot properly navigate. The government has to take drastic steps to boost our manufacturing, so that a good amount of goods is produced and there is a boost to employment. The scheme of Production Linked Incentive (PLI), which today is in force in 14 sectors, should be further increased. The priority should be production of good-quality goods. Costeffectiveness should also be kept in mind. Export expansion should be another area of the government’s mentoring.

We have to be a robust player in the global supply chain and compete with China and other global exporters. We should create some items that act like our own leverage assets, like China’s critical metals. We should also pursue new trade agreements to expand our exports into untapped corners of the world.

We are being called the pharmacy of the world, and our sincere efforts in this sector may create a leverage sector for us. We have already proved during Covid pandemic that in a short time the togetherness of the government along with some companies can produce striking results.

Our domestic market attractiveness should be assured by the government, along with good law and order, and a strong judicial system. This will help our country to attract more foreign investors and thus boost economic activity. In this context, the government should try to link foreign policy with economics.

Our foreign relationships should generate more economic activity in the country. While growing, there can also be growth in economic frauds, and for that the government has to be vigilant. Our institutions like the Income Tax Department, ED, CBI and even the judiciary should work in tandem to prevent loss of wealth through fraud. Economic fraudsters should be treated like serious criminals and given commensurate punishment.

All the stakeholders of the country have to act in total synchronisation and then, and only then, can we win the game. The unifying factor for such togetherness will be patriotism. Everybody — students, government employees, public-sector employees, traders, manufacturers, the self-employed and professionals—has a massive role to play. We all together will make our country great. The glue of love for the country will make us all happier and lead to the status of a developed country. Our NRIs and PIOs also have a role to play and should stand together to reach the goal.