India can build $10 tn economy by 2034: PwC

Launching a report on transformational change in India, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Monday said India has an opportunity to build a $10 trillion economy by 2034 with a growth rate of 9 percent per annum.

Titled "Future of India: The Winning Leap", the report "builds an aspirational model prepared after meeting business leaders and social thinkers and identifies winning strategies needed for this aspirational transformation", according to PwC International chairman Dennis Nally, who launched the report here.

It said that for India to take that "winning leap" and grow its GDP by 9 percent per year, it would require the corporate sector to come together with the entrepreneur class to build an entrepreneurial ecosystem in constructive partnership with the government.

"Corporations alone can't fuel growth and innovation needed to power India's winning leap, so the entrepreneurial sector must also play a major role as they possess qualities critical for developing innovative solutions, the willingness to take risks, an aptitude for fast decision-making, and bold leadership," said Deepak Kapoor, chairman, PwC India.

"The government also needs to extend support by creating national platform," he added.

The report says that up to 40 percent of India's $10 trillion economy of 2034 could be derived from new solutions.

"Nimbleness in going for new solutions and the new economy would define the future," said Shashank Tripathi, partner at PwC India.

The report investigates 10 sectors - education, healthcare, agriculture, retail, power, manufacturing, financial services, urbanisation and the enabling sectors of digital and physical connectivity.

It said each of the sectors faces challenges which will require new solutions that are resource efficient and environmentally sustainable. Moreover, all these sectors are interconnected and hence a setback in one spawns setbacks in others, it added.

"A young demography, paired with a burgeoning middle-class that is digitally enabled is a once in a lifetime opportunity for India to develop economically and socially," Nally said.

Based on US dollar rates of 2010, the report said that to achieve the aspirational targets it sets out for 2034, India would need to increase annual investments by at least six times in dollar terms.