An Economic Strategy for India

The Need for Globally Integrated, Inclusive and Sustainable Growth
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The glass has been half full for India’s economy at least since the Cambridge economist Joan Robinson remarked that “whatever you can rightly say about India, the opposite is also true”. That was in 1962—or six decades and counting. During this period the Republic of Korea has progressed from a per capita income of about $90, almost the same as India’s back in the 60s, to approximately $34,000 in 2024—or around thirteen times that of India. And the case of Korea  is not an isolated one.  

The example of equally populous China is even more mortifying. In 1990, India’s per capita income was $367, while China’s was only marginally lower at $317. By 2024, China seems far more advanced than might be suggested by its per capita income, which stands at about five times India’s.   

Indeed, China seems to be punching far above its weight. At a per capita income of U.S. $13,136 – significantly lower than the U.S. and Western Europe–China is the target of punitive tariffs by the United States that accuses it of subverting the rules-based world trading system and stealing intellectual property to drive its ambition of global technology domination. The trade war between the two is only a smokescreen for the deep anxieties the U.S. harbors over China’s transformation into a world leader.  

From pioneering advancements in AI and clean energy to dominating telecommunications hardware, Chinese companies are beginning to set global standards and possibly dethrone the U.S. from its virtually uncontested tech supremacy. China now files more patents annually than any other country.  

The question for us, of course, is: Why not India?  

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