First, citizens

A Viksit Bharat requires every Indian to be a Viksit Bharatiya

- KARAN AVTAR SINGH, ANIRUDH TEWARI

THE PRIME MINISTER’S vision for a Viksit Bharat by 2047 is a mandate for inclusive growth, ‘Sab ka saath, Sab ka Vikas’. This clarion call implies that we will leave no one behind in our quest to become a developed nation by 2047, when every citizen will enjoy a life of dignity anchored by fulfilled basic human needs.

The focus of the media coverage of Viksit Bharat has mainly been on infrastructure development, expanding manufacturing (Make in India), and exports and skill development. However, the focus should be on the citizen because Viksit Bharat requires every citizen to be a Viksit Bharatiya. This vision has three aspects: economic, human, and social, each of which requires a rapid transformation in the next decade. We focus on the individual citizen and her family (household) to indicate the policy reforms required now to enable each transformation.

ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION

As per the World Bank’s classification of high-income countries in 2023, the minimum per capita income level was $13,200 (about 10 lakh) per annum. This would require income levels in India to increase about five times by 2047, implying an annual growth rate of about 7.5 per cent for personal incomes, which translates to approximately 8.5 per cent annual GDP growth. To achieve this, the organised sector, which generates only 15 per cent of jobs in India at present, will have to grow tremendously to provide high-wage jobs for about 80 per cent of the working population. This implies a growth rate of formal employment at about 10 per cent per annum. In 2023, the organised sector provided only about 85 million jobs for about 640 million workers in India. How can the organised sector expand and create high-wage jobs for a Viksit Bharatiya?