Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated in a speech delivered from Red Fort Delhi on the occasion of India's 75th Independence Day on August 15 that his nation would soon surpass Japan and Germany to become the third largest economy in the world.
India's determination to surpass China and the United States as the world's first largest economy by 2047 demonstrates its growing self-assurance.Although it may sound odd and wishful thinking, the reality may support the perception that many Indians have of their nation as the top economic power in the next 25 years.With an economic growth rate of 7%, a GDP of $3.469 trillion, $537.52 billion in foreign currency reserves, $311.82 billion in exports, $100 billion in FDI, $8 billion in tourism revenue, $87 billion in remittances, and $156.7 billion in IT export revenue, India is confident that it will continue its economic expansion and overtake Germany and Japan by 2028 to become the third largest economy in the world.However, India must address its fault lines in order to realize its vision, particularly the rise in communal violence directed primarily at the 250 million-strong Muslim minority.
Similar to China, the Indian economy's opening up during Dr. Mahmohan Singh's tenure as finance minister in the early 1990s saw a significant leap forward, enabling it to become the fifth largest economy in the world within 30 years.
Let's see how India, which was poor, underdeveloped, and impoverished, managed to turn around and what problems could stop its economic boom.
India, like China, pursued a policy of self-reliance, focusing on industrialization and indigenous manufacturing rather than aiming for an import-driven economy.In addition, India opposed seeking assistance from other nations or relying on international financial institutions like the IMF, World Bank, and Asian Development Bank.India, like China, decided to promote the corporate sector's culture and invite investments from abroad when its economy became stable and strong.Along with a steady edge in science and technology, the Indian diaspora was another source of pride and foreign exchange earnings that helped transform Bangalore into Silicon Valley in California.India's economists were able to achieve miracles when it became the fifth largest economy in the world thanks to their meticulous planning and vision.
In a September 3, 2022 news report titled "India overtakes the UK to become the 5th largest economy of the world," noted Indian newspaper Deccan Harold stated:According to IMF projections, India has overtaken the United Kingdom to become the fifth largest economy in the world, trailing only the United States, China, Japan, and Germany.India was the 11th largest economy in the world a decade ago, while the United Kingdom was the fifth largest.Bloomberg's calculations using the IMF database and historical exchange rates on its terminal support the assumption that India will eventually surpass the United Kingdom.
The Deccan Herald published yet another article titled "India at 75:building a fortified future, which was released on August 15, 2022, looks at how India became the fifth largest economy in the world, stating:During the first few decades of India's independence, we focused on developing state capacity and investing our limited resources in intellectual and physical infrastructure.With our democracy's demonstrated resilience demonstrated, we were prepared to look economically abroad in the 1980s.Our markets became more open and our economy became more self-assured after liberalization in 1991.Foreign investment increased and competition increased as a result of reforms like deregulation of markets and the reduction of import tariffs.Indian businesses enthusiastically rose to the challenge as global competition discovered a new, fertile market in our nation.We have demonstrated our ability to compete with the best over the past 30 years by being innovative, resilient, and competitive.After the 1990s, GDP's average annual growth rate has been around 6.25 percent, which is significantly higher than the previous decade's average of 3.5%.In terms of purchasing power parity, India is the third largest economy in the world today.
It is time to critically consider the reasons why Pakistan lags behind India in all important economic indicators, given the aforementioned facts.In terms of per capita income, economic growth rate, and currency value, Pakistan surpassed India four decades ago.Pakistan must seriously address a number of issues that have arisen as a result of the paradigm shift in the Indian economy over the past three decades.Are the economy's fragility, poor governance, the erosion of the rule of law, extremism, and militancy that gave Pakistan a bad name to be blamed on previous governments?Or did the decline of the economy also result from non-governmental organizations' lack of initiative, preparation, and perseverance?In point of fact, the Pakistani diaspora as well as investment from other nations were discouraged from investing in India because of the corruption culture there.
Ironically, despite the fascist and extremist behavior of the Hindu nationalist parties led by the BJP, the Indian economy has not changed, and the country is moving forward with its plan to transform India into the world's top economy by 2047.The two fault lines that can have serious negative repercussions are Hindu extremism, which targets minorities, particularly Muslims, and India's flagrant violations of human rights in the occupied Kashmir.
If India becomes the third-largest economy in the world, there will be two major effects on Pakistan.First, the world would feel more at ease dealing with New Delhi rather than Islamabad if the Indian economy grew rapidly, which would put a great deal of pressure on Pakistan.Indian-born professionals holding responsible positions in global financial institutions and the IT sector would isolate Pakistan in the international business and IT fields.Second, India will be able to make significant allocations for its defense forces in addition to investing more in human development and infrastructure modernization with more resources at its disposal.
Pakistan's economy is deteriorating, and as a result, it will be unable to allocate resources to compensate for the $30 billion in damages caused by the recent floods;paying off external debt worth $130 billion;making its infrastructure more modern;enhancing human safety;and making people's lives better.Pakistan's mindset must attempt to comprehend how India, like China, was able to reach the great leap forward with its modern railway system, highways, underground metro in several cities, and a vibrant corporate sector if Indians are smart, sharp, competitive, and visionary.In contrast to Pakistan, India abolished the zamindari system during its early years of independence and adopted a constitution that strengthened its democracy on January 26, 1950.As a result, Pakistan's turning point.