India's new tryst with destiny: How the next five years will be crucial for the country

If one were to look at the past three decades, the last 10 years have seen some of the most fundamental changes to India’s economy. Whichever side of the political divide you may be on, it can be argued that the last decade has been instrumental in putting India firmly on the growth path—it is no accident that today, India is the fastest-growing major economy in the world. While the country took six decades to become a $1-trillion economy in 2007, current projections show that it will cross the $5-trillion mark by FY28, becoming the world’s third-largest economy. The aspiration is to hit $7 trillion by 2030. This momentum has been brought about by a few key factors—a big push on infrastructure spending by the government, a massive focus on leveraging digital public infrastructure, and a clean-up of bank balance sheets enabling them to push lending for growth.

Some key policy measures have also been fundamental in this period—the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code meant errant promoters who milked companies for personal gains and played with bank money could stand to lose their firms if they did not repay loans. Then there is the JAM Trinity—the Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, and mobile combination—which meant better last-mile delivery of benefits to the population. And GST, despite initial glitches, has become a major contributor to tax buoyancy. The manufacturing sector has been brought back to the forefront by way of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. As a January 2024 Deloitte note points out, India has successfully moved “from fragile five to first five” and has come a long way in 10 years to become a global economic powerhouse. It also successfully managed to navigate the two crushing years of the pandemic. “Despite uncertainties, India managed to sail ahead while building its ship,” says the Deloitte note. However, tackling global headwinds and generating enough jobs for those entering the workforce will remain key challenges.

As Business Today celebrates its 32nd Anniversary, having chronicled every major development in the Indian business firmament over three decades and more, India is well-positioned to march ahead with confidence to 2047. The new government that takes charge this year after the General Elections will, then, have its task cut out—to build on the reforms of the past decade and propel India to the top three in the world. The next five years, therefore, are crucial and that is why we have chosen “India 2029: The Five-year Agenda” as the central theme for this issue. Over the next several pages, you will read what a wide array of India’s foremost policymakers, business leaders and thinkers have to say about the road ahead and what India must do to secure its rightful place in the global economy. There is no better time than now to take stock. As TeamLease Co-founder Manish Sabharwal writes in his column: “India is in the right place at the right time over the next five years for our new tryst with destiny.” The world awaits.