New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil a vision document in December outlining India’s medium-term development goals and milestones, which will also shape the ruling National Democratic Alliance’s reform agenda and its re-election pitch for the coming year.
Extensive work is under way to analyze the development trajectory of key sectors and growth bottlenecks and formulate a collaborative approach with states’ involvement in the spirit of “Team India”, three people familiar with the discussions said, requesting anonymity.
Federal policy think tank NITI Aayog is working as the nodal agency for putting together the blueprint, assisted by a high-level committee of secretaries, said one of the people cited above.
The focus of this vision document will be on achieving developed country status by 2047, emphasizing inclusive and environment-friendly growth, sunrise industries and sustained infrastructure building, while paying special attention to the rural economy and farmer incomes, the person said.
The vision document, coming at the end of Modi’s second term, is also expected to achieve improved governance and service delivery for citizens. Economic development and human development will remain key pillars of the blueprint. Empowerment of women and increasing female participation in work will also get special attention, as would micro, small, and medium enterprises.
Developed country status is defined as $13,000 per capita income. India’s per capita income in FY24 would be around $2,500 based on the projected nominal GDP of ₹301 trillion and an exchange rate of 83 a dollar.
Emails sent to the Prime Minister’s Office and NITI Aayog on Saturday seeking comments for the story remained unanswered.
The proposed blueprint comes as India’s efforts to speed up economic growth by capturing a greater share of global production and trade are facing multiple challenges, including tight global financial conditions and geopolitical uncertainties. These are leading to a contraction in global demand and volatility in global energy and fertilizer prices and exchange rates.
On the domestic front, while the government’s increased spending is helping boost economic activities, rural consumption needs to catch up. Policy makers are pinning hopes on a revival in private investments, indicated by higher production and import of capital goods and aided by cleaner balance sheets of corporations and banks.
Experts said that addressing structural issues would be important for ensuring balanced growth. “Improving labour and capital productivity is critical for sustained, strong growth of the economy,” said N.R. Bhanumurthy, vice chancellor of Dr BR Ambedkar School of Economics University in Bengaluru. Enhanced factor productivity leads to higher economic output with the same resources.
Building 21st-century infrastructure would be a key element of the Vision 2047 document. The government has identified 16 important areas of infrastructure, including roads, ports and railways, for continued public and private investment.
One target is to build a network of 50,000 km of highways, including around 35,000 km of access-controlled ones, over the next two decades with an investment of over ₹20 trillion, said the third person cited above. Having a world-class railway and making the country a global maritime power are part of the blueprint.
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Updated: 15 Oct 2023, 11:15 PM IST