The middle-income trap is a clear potential for India

India's ambition to become a developed nation by 2047 may not be realistic but the country would have a higher per capita gross domestic product (GDP) by then, KENNETH KLETZER, professor of economics at the University of California, told Ruchika Chitravanshi in an interview in New Delhi. Kletzer also said India may be benefitting a little by being non-combatant in an increasingly worrisome world. Edited excerpts:

- Ruchika Chitravanshi

How concerned are you about the ongoing West Asia crisis on oil prices and the competitiveness of trade, growth?

We're probably in an era where those kinds of shocks won't have large repercussions on economies. There can be a shock to oil prices. I don't expect a very large one. And, there can be consequences of that for countries like India, China, those dependent on oil imports, and maybe an inflationary shock in the West.

The Economic Survey's had suggested that India should open up to Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) to increase manufacturing.

We've not done that. What do you think of it?

The protectionist reaction against Chinese investment in the US now seems to be quite broad - out of who knows what kinds of fears. I like the Economic Survey's suggestion to welcome foreign investment and easing restraints on foreign investment. It makes a specific point about China. China is the country with the opportunity, with technology. India could benefit more from China's technology.

World over, we are seeing a rise in protectionism.