India@100 Could Be As Rich As US, China

5 ideas to ensure equitable, sustainable prosperity for all

India and the world changed dramatically at the beginning of the 1990s. Communist Soviet Union collapsed. The Cold War ended. And India embarked on a bold new path of economic reforms. Thirty years later, the global order is changing fundamentally yet again. The speed, scale and substance of this change are unprecedented, even unpredictable. Yet, one thing is absolutely predictable: India’s time has come.

Destiny and Drive are making the 21st century’s favourite nation ready for a great leap forward. India stands at the doorstep of prosperity that is both significant and inclusive, and of delivering all-round human development through the democratic route. With faith in our potential, confidence in our collective capabilities, and unity in action, we can exceed the world’s expectations.

My source of optimism is our recent past. In 1991, India showed foresight and courage in changing both the direction and determinants of its economy. The government placed the private sector also at the commanding heights of the national economy, which the public sector had occupied for the previous four decades. It ended the license-quota raj, liberalised trade and industrial policies, and freed up capital markets and the financial sector. These reforms liberated India’s entrepreneurial energy and inaugurated an era of fast-paced growth.