Fastest and fifth largest: India’s economy is unstoppable
Author: Anurag Thakur
It may be coincidental, but it is nonetheless of profound satisfaction for every Indian that India has surpassed Britain to emerge as the world’s fifth largest economy in the 75th year of its independence from British colonial rule. This achievement also comes at a time when Britain is struggling to shore up its plummeting economy and firefighting soaring inflation which has pushed up cost of living to levels never imagined by the UK, Europe and the West. Economists who have been relentlessly critiquing the Indian economy are stumped that they failed to foresee Britain’s, and indeed much of the West’s, woes. To paraphrase French President Emmanuel Macron, the days of abundance are truly over for them. And they could just about be beginning for us.
Bloomberg, which first broke the news of India surpassing Britain to become the world’s fifth largest economy, contextualized it in colonial terms of a colonizer being left behind by its erstwhile colony. The emperor was stripped of both empire and glory long ago; over a period of time Great Britain shrank into little England; but its economy remained strong and the UK firmly held its place in the list of top five economies. Offensive as the colonial reference in the Bloomberg report no doubt was, it also underscored how a country that was left battered, bruised and bleeding by its British rulers in 1947, had steadily risen to reclaim that which was lost: economic prosperity and clout.
It would be in order to reiterate that the British colonization of India was essentially about the economic exploitation of this country and the transfer of wealth from India to Britain. Seventy-five years ago, when the Tricolor replaced the Union Jack on 15 August 1947, India’s share of the world GDP had fallen from 24.4 per cent in 1700 to a paltry 3 per cent. Britain prospered while India was pushed further into poverty. It is important to recall these numbers to understand the stunning rise of India in the last eight years which have seen Prime Minister Narendra Modi making major policy shifts to put the national economy in top gear and making up for the lost decades when successive Governments dallied with Soviet era-style state control and grossly underestimated the potential of Indian enterprise, choosing to ignore aspirations for restrictions.
In 2014, Prime Minister Modi buried the past and launched a future that would address the many aspirations of Indians, unleash their potential, and place this great nation on a trajectory of growth while ensuring that the last person in the last row is a beneficiary of a wealthier and prosperous India. These eight years have witnessed the impact of the steady changes brought about by PM Modi, making the India Story the most relevant in the world. Statistics by themselves tend to tell a partial story. India has emerged as the fifth largest economy in terms of nominal GDP clocking in at 13.5 per cent in the first quarter of FY 2023. If we were to factor in purchasing power parity, India’s GDP makes it the world’s third largest economy, behind the US and China. All available indices and projections suggest that while the GDP of others will either stagnate or decline, India’s will continue to rise. Which means India will maintain its lead and increase the pace of closing existing gaps.
The two successive Covid-19 pandemic years severely impacted India’s economy, as they did economies globally. They were years of adversities which PM Modi converted into opportunities. His foresight prevented India from going the way of others by splurging money and squandering resources. Instead, he opted for a cautious and prudent approach, targeting expenditure on job-generating infrastructure projects and promoting incentive-based schemes for industry to regain momentum. The Production Linked Incentive scheme worth Rs 2 lakh crore has begun to show results. These measures came in the backdrop of PM Modi ensuring a vastly improved ease of doing business, policy stability, revised labour laws, and a hugely popular and the world’s largest digital payment system, apart from leveraging India’s technology pool, encouraging start-ups and unicorns, and directly engaging with global investors and industries. While the emphasis was no doubt on getting the economy back on rails and pushing for a rise in GDP which had taken a beating during the lockdown years, PM Modi did not forget those who bore the brunt of the pandemic – the poor and the underprivileged. The world’s largest free food programme with almost two-thirds of India’s population receiving free rations, coupled with the world’s largest Covid19 vaccination drive, helped India’s economy to recover from the pandemic’s ravages and gain both speed and scale.
In 1947, India was a disinherited nation. As we enter the 25 years leading up to 100 years of freedom, our nation’s ‘Amrit Kaal’, we stand stronger and more prosperous. Today India is the world’s leading consumer of smartphone data, it ranks second in terms of Internet users, and it is the world’s third largest consumer market clocking in at number two on the Global Retail Index. The very fact that India is the third largest consumer of energy underscores its booming economy. From importing Lancashire products 75 years ago, there has been spectacular rise in the export of Indian textiles. We are now robust participants in global trade, surpassing previous export records and touching Rs 50 lakh crore this year. Our merchandise export has crossed Rs 31 lakh crore. A country that once lived on the mercy of PL 480, exports food to the world today.
The list of Modi Government’s success stories is long. It would suffice to mention that more than 100 billion-dollar companies have been created and new companies are being added every month. The valuation of unicorns created in the last eight years is Rs 12 lakh crore. Under PM Modi’s indefatigable leadership, India has grown from a few hundred to 70,000 start-ups. Yet, growth and prosperity have not been uneven: 50 per cent of the start-ups are in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. Much of these successes are driven by the Digital India revolution ushered in by PM Modi. In 2014, India had 6.5 crore broadband subscribers; today, there are more than 78 crore subscribers. The introduction of GST has served entrepreneurs well while plugging gaping holes in tax collection.
But India is not merely about chrome and glass malls showcasing its rising prosperity. Nobody understands this better than PM Modi. Hence his focus has been on reducing poverty, which is happening. A recent IMF study tells us how extreme poverty and consumption inequality have sharply declined. Housing and healthcare for the poor have had a remarkable impact on social development indices, as have a slew of schemes ranging from providing subsidized LPG to the underprivileged, to bringing potable water on tap in every rural household. Mudra loans and other associated programmes have given a push to self-employment opportunities that not only create micro enterprises but also generate jobs. Compared to global energy price increases, India is better placed; the post-pandemic turbulence has least impacted ease of living.
PM Modi’s vision of ‘Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat’ has slowly but steadily taken shape and form. It is a vision that involves both Government and people – a joint effort, or ‘Sabka Prayas’. This Bharat is self-confident and ‘Aatmnirbhar’, ready to meet challenges and overcome adversities. Crossing the twin milestones of emerging as the fifth largest economy and the fastest growing economy is no doubt a stupendous achievement for India and Indians. From this point on we begin our journey on the road to achieving PM Modi’s goal of creating a $5 trillion economy. It can now be said confidently that India shall cross this milestone too in the next two years. It’s happening. /PIB/
(The writer is a Union Minister)
More In Public Affairs
NEP-2020 aspires for inclusive excellence in school education
Rajeev Ranjan Roy
The New Education Policy-2020 (NEP-2020), unveiled recently, aims at achieving excellence in school learning by imparting quality, affordable and inclusive education to all, with an extra emphasis on those children coming from socially and educationally disadvantaged groups of the society. It is a futuristic endeavour towards building Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat. The previous education policies largely focussed on the issues of access and equity in giving school education, while the NEP-2020 commits to laying the foundation of a vibrant Bharat where no one is devoid of a kind of school education, which helps every student become an asset for the nation in a true sense. The unfinished agenda of the National Policy on Education 1986, which was modified in 1992, has been effectively dealt with in the NEP-2020 along with the vision behind the Right to the Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, which “laid down legal underpinnings for achieving universal elementary education.”
Given the undisputed role of education in nation building, the NEP-2020 rightly lays the stress on standardization and accreditation of school infrastructure and teachers as well, since education with accountability, transparency and affordability is the need of the hour, and hence the need to “empower schools, teachers with trust, enabling them to strive for excellence and perform at their very best, while ensuring the integrity of the system through the enforcement of complete transparency and full public disclosure of all finances, procedures and outcomes.” Since private sector is significantly present in the field of school education, the idea to promote ‘not-for-profit’ entities is a unique feature of NEP-2020, which at the same time intends to promote private philanthropic efforts for quality education, thereby affirming the public-good nature of education, while protecting parents and communities from arbitrary increase in tuition fees.
An equally important area, which has got due attention in the NEP-2020 is the need for efficient resourcing and effective governance through school complexes and clusters, a significant initiative in view of the fact that nearly 28 per cent of India’s public primary schools and 14.8 per cent of upper primary schools have less than 30 students. The average number of students per grade in the elementary schooling system – Grades 1 to 8 – is about 14, with a notable proportion having below six students during 2016-17, the year which also had 1,08,017 single-teacher schools, and majority of them – 85,743 – being primary schools taking care of Grades 1-5 children. It was, therefore, a pressing need to evolve a mechanism for establishing a grouping structure, say, school complexes, consisting of one secondary school together with all other schools, which lead to greater resource efficiency and more effective functioning, coordination, leadership, governance, and management of schools in the cluster. This will not only ensure optimum utilisation of resources, but will also foster the sense of oneness and togetherness among the school children, who are the future of the nation.
What further makes the New Education Policy-2020 uniquely special is its pledge for equitable and inclusive education for all, one of the great dreams of our founding fathers. Education, as the NEP-2020 rightly envisions, is “the single greatest tool for achieving social justice and quality.” Inclusive and equitable education, indeed an essential goal in its own right, is also critical to achieving a social order where every citizen has “the opportunity to dream, thrive, and contribute to the nation.” Quality, affordable and ethical education to all is the first move to break multiple social and economic barriers, which sow the seeds of exclusion, discrimination and exploitation against our own people on different parochial considerations.
Needless to say efforts were made in the past as well to bridge the educational chasm between socially and educationally disadvantaged groups (SEDGs) and the children of top social strata, but the desired results remained elusive. SEDGs account for the country’s overwhelming population, but their children’s share in quality school educational institutions has been minimal over the years. Early childhood care and education (ECCE) needs to be handled more comprehensively. According to the Unified-District Information System for Education (U-DISE) 2016-17 data, about 19.6 per cent of students belonged to Scheduled Castes (SCs) at the primary level, but this fraction fell to 17.3 per cent at the higher secondary level. These enrollment drop-outs were more severe for ST students (10.6 per cent to 6.8 per cent), and differently-abled children (1.1 per cent to 0.25 per cent), with even greater declines for female students within each of these categories. Thus, there is no scope for any complacency on the part of the government. A series of interventions including better facilities, more and more hostels, scholarships and other enabling support have been provisioned in the NEP-2020 so that the idea of ‘learning for all’ is realised in a more comprehensive manner.
Teachers are not only an integral part of an education system, but the most important stakeholder in the entire gamut of things. Their quality and ability to teach school students, when they are in their formative age, become something of paramount importance. From their recruitment to training, every precaution needs to be taken to ensure that school education is not rendered to a mere formality, but becomes a game changer. The New Education Policy-2020 comes with a basket full of tools and parameters to ensure holistic training and upgradation of teachers and their teaching skills in a sustainable manner. From continuous professional development (CPD) to career management and progression (CMP), the NEP-2020 vouches for a set of common guidelines – National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST), which will be put in place by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) in its restructured new form as the Professional Standard Setting Body (PSSB) under the General Education Council. This exercise will be carried out in consultation with National Council Educational Research and Training (NCERT), SCERTs, teachers from across levels and regions.
The teacher education will also undergo a sea-change. By 2030, the minimum degree qualification for teaching will be a 4-year integrated B.Ed. that teaches a range of knowledge content. Today B.Ed. teaching is most poorly regulated in our country ever since the standalone B.Ed. colleges were allowed to be opened up in the private sector. It is high time to take B.Ed. teaching more than seriously. The NEP-2020 stipulates that by 2021, a new and comprehensive National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education (NCFTE-2021) will be formulated by the NCTE. NCFTE, which will also factor in the requirements of teacher education curricula for vocational education, will be revised once every 5-10 years.
In conclusion, the NEP-2020 visualizes to impart a school education which lays the foundation of a self-reliant India and also to help our country emerge as a knowledge hub. From the foundation of learning to foundational literacy and numeracy to checking drop outs and ensuring universal access to education for all and at all levels to the restructuring of school curriculum, India is in for a metamorphosis in the field of school education, recognizing, identifying and fostering the unique capabilities of each student. Tools such as multi disciplinarity, emphasis on conceptual understanding, creativity and critical thinking, ethics and human and constitutional values, full equity and inclusion, and light but tight regulatory framework are bound to do wonders. Education is a public service, a rare pursuit in nation building, which should be holistic and inclusive and must make one take pride in India and its rich, diverse, ancient and modern culture and knowledge systems and tradition. The NEP-2020 aspires so, indeed!
( The writer is a senior journalist and author. The views expressed are strictly personal.)
NEP-2020 aspires for inclusive excellence in school education
Rajeev Ranjan Roy
The New Education Policy-2020 (NEP-2020), unveiled recently, aims at achieving excellence in school learning by imparting quality, affordable and inclusive education to all, with an extra emphasis on those children coming from socially and educationally disadvantaged groups of the society. It is a futuristic endeavour towards building Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat. The previous education policies largely focussed on the issues of access and equity in giving school education, while the NEP-2020 commits to laying the foundation of a vibrant Bharat where no one is devoid of a kind of school education, which helps every student become an asset for the nation in a true sense. The unfinished agenda of the National Policy on Education 1986, which was modified in 1992, has been effectively dealt with in the NEP-2020 along with the vision behind the Right to the Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, which “laid down legal underpinnings for achieving universal elementary education.”
Given the undisputed role of education in nation building, the NEP-2020 rightly lays the stress on standardization and accreditation of school infrastructure and teachers as well, since education with accountability, transparency and affordability is the need of the hour, and hence the need to “empower schools, teachers with trust, enabling them to strive for excellence and perform at their very best, while ensuring the integrity of the system through the enforcement of complete transparency and full public disclosure of all finances, procedures and outcomes.” Since private sector is significantly present in the field of school education, the idea to promote ‘not-for-profit’ entities is a unique feature of NEP-2020, which at the same time intends to promote private philanthropic efforts for quality education, thereby affirming the public-good nature of education, while protecting parents and communities from arbitrary increase in tuition fees.
An equally important area, which has got due attention in the NEP-2020 is the need for efficient resourcing and effective governance through school complexes and clusters, a significant initiative in view of the fact that nearly 28 per cent of India’s public primary schools and 14.8 per cent of upper primary schools have less than 30 students. The average number of students per grade in the elementary schooling system – Grades 1 to 8 – is about 14, with a notable proportion having below six students during 2016-17, the year which also had 1,08,017 single-teacher schools, and majority of them – 85,743 – being primary schools taking care of Grades 1-5 children. It was, therefore, a pressing need to evolve a mechanism for establishing a grouping structure, say, school complexes, consisting of one secondary school together with all other schools, which lead to greater resource efficiency and more effective functioning, coordination, leadership, governance, and management of schools in the cluster. This will not only ensure optimum utilisation of resources, but will also foster the sense of oneness and togetherness among the school children, who are the future of the nation.
What further makes the New Education Policy-2020 uniquely special is its pledge for equitable and inclusive education for all, one of the great dreams of our founding fathers. Education, as the NEP-2020 rightly envisions, is “the single greatest tool for achieving social justice and quality.” Inclusive and equitable education, indeed an essential goal in its own right, is also critical to achieving a social order where every citizen has “the opportunity to dream, thrive, and contribute to the nation.” Quality, affordable and ethical education to all is the first move to break multiple social and economic barriers, which sow the seeds of exclusion, discrimination and exploitation against our own people on different parochial considerations.
Needless to say efforts were made in the past as well to bridge the educational chasm between socially and educationally disadvantaged groups (SEDGs) and the children of top social strata, but the desired results remained elusive. SEDGs account for the country’s overwhelming population, but their children’s share in quality school educational institutions has been minimal over the years. Early childhood care and education (ECCE) needs to be handled more comprehensively. According to the Unified-District Information System for Education (U-DISE) 2016-17 data, about 19.6 per cent of students belonged to Scheduled Castes (SCs) at the primary level, but this fraction fell to 17.3 per cent at the higher secondary level. These enrollment drop-outs were more severe for ST students (10.6 per cent to 6.8 per cent), and differently-abled children (1.1 per cent to 0.25 per cent), with even greater declines for female students within each of these categories. Thus, there is no scope for any complacency on the part of the government. A series of interventions including better facilities, more and more hostels, scholarships and other enabling support have been provisioned in the NEP-2020 so that the idea of ‘learning for all’ is realised in a more comprehensive manner.
Teachers are not only an integral part of an education system, but the most important stakeholder in the entire gamut of things. Their quality and ability to teach school students, when they are in their formative age, become something of paramount importance. From their recruitment to training, every precaution needs to be taken to ensure that school education is not rendered to a mere formality, but becomes a game changer. The New Education Policy-2020 comes with a basket full of tools and parameters to ensure holistic training and upgradation of teachers and their teaching skills in a sustainable manner. From continuous professional development (CPD) to career management and progression (CMP), the NEP-2020 vouches for a set of common guidelines – National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST), which will be put in place by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) in its restructured new form as the Professional Standard Setting Body (PSSB) under the General Education Council. This exercise will be carried out in consultation with National Council Educational Research and Training (NCERT), SCERTs, teachers from across levels and regions.
The teacher education will also undergo a sea-change. By 2030, the minimum degree qualification for teaching will be a 4-year integrated B.Ed. that teaches a range of knowledge content. Today B.Ed. teaching is most poorly regulated in our country ever since the standalone B.Ed. colleges were allowed to be opened up in the private sector. It is high time to take B.Ed. teaching more than seriously. The NEP-2020 stipulates that by 2021, a new and comprehensive National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education (NCFTE-2021) will be formulated by the NCTE. NCFTE, which will also factor in the requirements of teacher education curricula for vocational education, will be revised once every 5-10 years.
In conclusion, the NEP-2020 visualizes to impart a school education which lays the foundation of a self-reliant India and also to help our country emerge as a knowledge hub. From the foundation of learning to foundational literacy and numeracy to checking drop outs and ensuring universal access to education for all and at all levels to the restructuring of school curriculum, India is in for a metamorphosis in the field of school education, recognizing, identifying and fostering the unique capabilities of each student. Tools such as multi disciplinarity, emphasis on conceptual understanding, creativity and critical thinking, ethics and human and constitutional values, full equity and inclusion, and light but tight regulatory framework are bound to do wonders. Education is a public service, a rare pursuit in nation building, which should be holistic and inclusive and must make one take pride in India and its rich, diverse, ancient and modern culture and knowledge systems and tradition. The NEP-2020 aspires so, indeed!
( The writer is a senior journalist and author. The views expressed are strictly personal.)
