FIX FROM GROUND UP

Prepare business strategies for districts and leverage existing government schemes to make India a global economic powerhouse

- POONAM MUNJAL AND NIJARA DEKA

IN THE face of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise in food and fuel prices, it may appear difficult for the country to reach its US $5-trillion economy target by 2025. But a study conducted by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) shows that the targets are easily attainable by following the bottom-up approach recommended by the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

In 2018, a working group constituted by DPIIT proposed to treat districts as the primary unit for planning and policy interventions so that they contribute to the accelerated growth of the Indian economy. A key policy intervention is to prepare strategies for the districts centred around their local strengths and economic activities. To prepare a roadmap for implementing the working group's recommendations, NCAER between 2019 and 2021 conducted a series of studies in the districts of Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra. It has identified four key areas that can help fast-track the economic growth of districts: i) finding potential sectors of growth; ii) implementing actions, such as assessing capacities of the district for and identifying potential investors and sites for undertaking growth activities; iii) offering support to the district development unit as well as recommendations course-correction; and iv) sharing the findings with local communities or the target groups. These areas of economic growth can then be implemented by leveraging existing central- or state-sponsored government schemes, notes NCAER.