Perspectives on India's Economic Growth Story by Amitabh Kant

India’s remarkable growth story has been built on a foundation of infrastructural development, strategic reforms, digital innovation, and environmental sustainability. This multi-pronged approach has bolstered India’s position in the global economy, catapulting it from the ‘fragile five’ to the ‘top five’ over the last decade. This was emphasised by Mr Amitabh Kant, the G20 Sherpa and former Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog, during an interactive session with students at Ahmedabad University. Mr Kant highlighted the transformation of India’s economy from the erstwhile ‘Licence Raj’ to progressive liberalisation, driven by critical reforms such as the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), advent of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, and introduction of the Real Estate Regulation and Development Act (RERA) and the Ease of Doing Business initiative to guide competitive growth at the State level.   

The Digital Revolution in the country has been powered by Aadhaar, a strategic policy tool to ensure social and financial inclusion and people-centric governance, and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), a fast and ubiquitous digital payment system for facilitating instant money transfers. By mainstreaming the concept of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) at the G20 summit it hosted last year, India has also succeeded in positioning itself as a pioneer of seamless integration of technology for empowering its citizens digitally. The endorsement of DPI by the International Monetary Fund as a robust model for digital governance signifies India’s triumph in fostering inclusivity through digitisation. 

The other pillars of economic growth in the country include investment in robust infrastructure for transportation and urban development, and the launch of ‘Green Initiatives’ for enabling decarbonisation and urbanisation with a focus on eco-friendly living. India is also actively involved in the manufacture, storage and distribution of Green Hydrogen as a fuel source for clean energy. Further, the Government’s strategy for inclusive growth includes programmes such as the Production Linked Incentive scheme, encouraging acceleration of start-ups, and ensuring greater involvement of the private sector in development.

Mr Kant concluded that these reforms are imperative for achieving GDP growth of 9-10 per cent over the next few decades and for making India a $30 trillion economy by 2047.