“Present-day National Aspirations Reflect the Collective Aspiration of India”

V ANANTHA NAGESWARAN, Chief Economic Advisor to the Union Government, opened up about “Viksit Bharat 2047”, state-led growth, why India should become ‘indispensable like China’, and more, recently

- BY SUMAN K. JHA

In a recent talk on making India a developed nation by 2047, you said India should 'become indispensable like China'. Can you please elaborate?

For a large economy with a young population, it is easy to be comforted by the promises of what 'largeness' can offer—a strong consumption base, cheap labour and steady growth. However, to become a growth wonder and achieve the ambitions of Amrit Kaal, our economy must also strive towards becoming indispensable across sectors and supply chains. This indispensability will allow India to exercise its strategic autonomy and deepen ties with like-minded partner nations in a rapidly inward-looking global economy. Indispensability means geopolitical leverage.

Developing indispensability requires long-term thinking on the part of policymakers and institutional stakeholders, corporations, and individuals. It requires heavy investment in R&D, an improvement in corporate capital formation and a rise in the quality of education. It demands a deliberate staving off from 'jugaad', quick-fix solutions.

While the past decade of growth focused on the rapid scaling of hard infrastructure required to create competitiveness, the current decade involves a focus on quality, extensive deregulation and dedicated spending towards developing the soft infrastructure of the county, i.e., education and innovation. Combined, these will be decisive in elevating India's indispensability quotient.

You also said India needs to prioritise manufacturing, education, job creation. Can you please elaborate? Is there a plan/blueprint that the government is considering to further boost, say, manufacturing and job creation?