NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam said that a vision document aimed at making India a developed country is in its final stages and a draft is expected to be ready by December. He also stated that the final ‘Viksit Bharat @ 2047’ document will be critical in helping India avoid the middle-income trap, which remains a major concern in policy circles.
Ten sectoral groups of secretaries (SGoS) from various ministries created around themes including infrastructure, welfare, commerce and industry, technology, and governance have each prepared a vision document in a process that lasted nearly two years.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to unveil the plan within the next three months, which includes an outline of reforms and outcomes to be achieved by 2030, along with structural changes in governance that will be critical to make India a $30 trillion economy by 2047 with a per-capita income of $18,000-20,000.
The apex policy think tank has also announced plans for consultation with thought leaders like Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, Nandan Nilekani, N Chandrasekaran, among several others in the final week of November.
“By December, we will have the draft version of the plan ready, and several States are also in the process of preparing their own road maps,” said Subrahmanyam.
“We have cut through the poverty issue, we have resolved the problems of the last century which are roads, electricity, and water, and in a couple of years these challenges won’t remain. Now we have to get to the next level, our momentum will take you through the next three to four years, then you will start hitting this middle-income trap,” the CEO explained further.
India is currently estimated to be the fifth largest economy with a GDP of $3.7 trillion. Several estimates show that India’s GDP is expected to overtake Japan and Germany by 2030.
Furthermore, the preliminary results from NITI Aayog’s forecasting also predict that India’s exports will be valued at $8.67 trillion in 2047 while its imports will be valued at $12.12 trillion. The apex policy think tank also predicts India’s average life expectancy to jump to 71.8 from 67.2 in 2021 and its literacy rate to 89.8% from 77.8% in 2021.
“2047 will be a very different India. It will be highly urbanised. Where we live, the way we move, the kind of jobs we do, what we eat– things are going to change massively by that time. The way the government is structured also has to change,” Subrahmanyam said.
