India turns 100 in 2047. Will it be a wealthy nation by then? Will poverty and homelessness be wiped out and will no child go hungry? If you choose to believe the statements of the country’s leaders and many optimists, India will be a paradise for all when it becomes a centenarian. Unfortunately, the reality is that a few decades from now, while the country will be among the top three economies of the world in terms of GDP, the nation will struggle to join the ranks of what are termed the ‘high income’ or ‘developed’ countries, even if it maintains its current growth rate in the intervening years.
Seventy-six years since Independence, India has seen much progress. It’s already one of the top five economies in the world, it’s the world’s fastest growing large economy, it’s a cinch to become a $5 trillion economy before this decade is over, and yet, all these positive indicators conceal an unpalatable truth: India presently has one of the largest populations of people below the poverty line (no matter where you decide to draw it), and this will continue to be the case when it hits the century mark. Besides poverty, the country faces multiple challenges in healthcare, education, and employment, as well as long-term threats such as global warming.
It also needs to be better prepared to handle the advent of Artificial Intelligence and unpredictable disruptions like the Covid-19 pandemic.
Is there any hope, then, of the country’s per capita income (the only true indicator of whether a country’s citizens are rich or poor) rising to that of the world’s most developed nations? One of our most respected business journalists, Prosenjit Datta, attempts to answer that question by analysing the facts on the ground and the government’s strategies to develop the economy. He also looks at how the politicians and bureaucrats at the centre and in the states intend to deal with unemployment, inflation, poor infrastructure, bureaucratic red tape, and a host of other problems that stand in the way of India and its citizens becoming affluent. Finally, the author also lays out a realistic plan on how the country can become an economic powerhouse that benefits all Indians rather than just the privileged few.
Will India Get Rich Before It Turns 100? is a book that will dispel unsupported myth-making, open your eyes, and provoke you to think. Deeply researched, grounded in incontrovertible fact, and brilliantly argued, this book shows clearly what the future holds for us.
Prosenjit Datta is a veteran business journalist. He was the editor of BusinessWorld and Business Today. He has also worked with the Economic Times and Business Standard.
Since retirement, Prosenjit has been writing columns for Business Standard and Moneycontrol, among other publications. He takes a keen interest in the Indian economy, corporate sector, and science and technology. He also runs a business writing consultancy.
