Road to Viksit Bharat: India will need continuous reforms at all levels

In his first address to the nation from the ramparts of the historic Red Fort after securing a third consecutive term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated significant time to the idea of transforming India into a developed country by 2047. Mr Modi discussed how the government had received ideas from across the country and was working on some of those suggestions to accelerate development. In fact, the idea of making India a developed nation by 2047 is being debated across the country. The government’s think tank, NITI Aayog, recently published an approach paper, which noted, in simple terms, that for India to become a developed nation by 2047, its per capita income will need to increase by about eight times — at a much higher rate of growth than that seen in the past two decades.

There is little debate that the target is ambitious, and India will need significant reforms across all sectors. The government is also aware of the challenges, as reflected in the Prime Minister’s speech. He highlighted several reforms the government had implemented in the past few years and emphasised the government’s commitment to pursuing further reforms. It is worth noting that a significant amount of work will need to be done at the state level if India is to achieve higher levels of sustainable growth. In this context, Mr Modi urged state governments to establish clear policies, create land banks, and ensure good governance to attract investments. After all, investments are made in states and businesses have to deal with the state machinery on a day-to-day basis. He also urged all levels of government and departments to implement at least two reforms every year. Collectively, it will help improve both the ease of doing business and the ease of living in the country.

One of the critical elements in India’s development journey will be its ability to use a young and growing workforce. This will require substantially improving the level of education and skills. The government introduced several measures in its latest Budget, for instance, but India needs a holistic approach to fill gaps. Ideas like “Design in India, Design for the World” will depend on the quality of manpower. In this regard, Mr Modi did well to emphasise the use of the mother tongue in education. Young minds should not suffer because of language. The Prime Minister also emphasised improving the country's higher-education quality, so that students don’t have to go abroad in large numbers. The highlight of the speech in this regard was the announcement of creating 75,000 additional medical college seats over the next five years. While attracting investment is important, improving the quality of the workforce will be crucial for driving India’s growth over the coming decades.

Among other issues, Mr Modi touched upon “One Nation, One Election”, and the Uniform Civil Code. Both ideas, arguably, have merits, but the country should only move forward after wider debate, consultation, and building broad consensus, something that Mr Modi also stressed in his address. Continuous elections in one part of the country or another indeed affect the overall policy environment and decision-making processes. However, moving to “One Nation, One Election” will not be easy. There are concerns and questions that must be addressed. Similarly, in the case of the Uniform Civil Code, it will be important to take all stakeholders on board. It must be noted that the government’s focus should be on rapid economic growth, and it would do well to avoid issues that could hamper its ability to intervene in economic matters effectively.