India's Decade of Development

Abstract

We believe that India has a chance for a tremendous breakthrough in economic development during the current decade. India’s political system is more than ever in consensus about the basic direction of reforms. The current government enjoys a strong electoral mandate. A decade of opening of the economy has produced new dynamism, most dramatically in the Information Technology sector, but in others as well. The world is waking up to India’s crucial role as the largest democracy and as a dynamic economy, if still a low-income one on average. The new technologies (especially information technology and biotechnology) give new opportunities for economic and social development. We suggest that India should set major national goals of development. These goals will help to galvanize domestic public opinion in support of the objectives of development, provide a gauge against which to judge the progress of policies, and help the world community to appreciate the efforts underway, and support them through increased flows of foreign investment. To make the first decade of the 21st Century a true Decade of Development will require a broad-based program of economic and social actions. We highlight ten crucial initiatives in this regard.