India Needs 7.8% Growth to Reach High-Income Status by 2047: World Bank
India needs to maintain an average annual growth rate of 7.8% over the next 22 years to reach high-income status by 2047, a new World Bank report published on Friday found. Entitled 'Becoming a High-Income Economy in a Generation,' the report presents a possible though challenging trajectory for India to reach the goal, drawing on its remarkable average growth of 6.3% over 2000-2024.
World Bank Country Director Auguste Tano Kouame reinforced that India must look to Chile, Korea, and Poland for lessons on how these nations succeeded in becoming high-income countries via more intense world integration. "India can also walk its own way by intensifying the process of reforms and leveraging its accumulated experience", Kouame stated.
The report provides three growth scenarios, with the most optimistic placing India on track to become a high-income nation by 2047. This scenario is based on more rapid, inclusive state growth, raising total investment from the current 33.5% of GDP to 40% by 2035, and increasing overall labor force participation from 56.4% to over 65%.
Central to this change is leveraging India's demographic dividend. "India can invest in human capital, create conditions for more and better jobs, and increase female labor force participation from 35.6% to 50% by 2047", report co-authors Emilia Skrok and Rangeet Ghosh said.
India has already pushed its three-year average growth rate to 7.2%. To sustain momentum and reach the required 7.8% growth, the report identifies four key policy areas: accelerating investment, driving job creation, encouraging structural transformation, enhancing trade and technology uptake, and allowing states to grow faster and in harmony.
The report stresses that ambitious reforms and steadfast policy implementation will be vital for India to realize its high-income aspirations. With the right strategies, India has the potential to emerge as a global economic powerhouse by 2047, setting an inspiring example for developing nations worldwide.
