Modi@11: Milestones at macro level

AS PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi completes 11 years in office, it's time for taking stock of his government's major achievements at the macro level, and what challenges lie ahead.

- ASHOK GULATI RITIKA JUNEJA

For comparison, we also look back at the record of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government from 2004 to 2014.

In 2014, when PM Modi assumed office, India's nominal GDP stood at $2.04 trillion, up from $709 billion in 2004 when the UPA came to power. This was a jump of 2.8 times in 10 years. By 2025, India's economy is likely to be $4.19 trillion, almost doubling in 11 years. It will make India the fourth-largest economy globally. Yet, nominal GDP in US dollars tells only a part of the story. A more appropriate gauge to measure economic welfare of the people will be to look at GDP and per capita income in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms—what a US dollar can buy in that country—within which India's progress has been remarkable: from $2.75 trillion in 2004, $6.45 trillion in 2014, and soaring to $17.65 trillion in 2025. This positions India as the world's third-largest economy in PPP terms, behind China ($40.72 trillion) and the US ($30.51 trillion).

However, national aggregates can obscure individual well-being. Evaluating people's welfare and quality of life requires per capita income in PPP terms, which, for India, rose from $2,424.2 in 2004 to $4,935.5 in 2014, and now stands at $12,131.8 in 2025. However, despite this progress, India still ranks the lowest among G20 countries in both dollar ($2,878) and PPP terms ($12,131.8), and is only ahead of Pakistan ($6,950.5) and Bangladesh ($10,261.1) among its neighbours.