India, 2018–2022—Accelerating Inclusive Economic Transformation

Abstract

India grew at an average rate of more than 7% since FY2012, which placed it among the world’s fastest growing large economies, and resulted in India’s share in global GDP rising from 2.4% in 2013 to 3.0% in 2016. The rapid growth has been accompanied by numerous measures to remove the structural bottlenecks and improve the investment climate. The country has more than halved the poverty rate since FY2004 and has achieved most of the Millennium Development Goals. Accelerating such positive trends demands India to address the remaining impediments and emerging challenges, such as (i) building economic competitiveness to create more job opportunities while integrating the economy with global value chains; (ii) resolving infrastructure bottlenecks, particularly for emerging urban growth centers as an engine of economic growth and center of commercial activities; (iii) closing the widening gap between advanced and lagging regions where most of the poor are concentrated; (iv) addressing worsening environmental degradation, natural resource depletion, and adverse climate change impacts; and (v) building greater institutional capacities and a knowledge base to enhance efficiency and accountability of the economic system.