India became 5th largest economy of the world, miles to go

India became 5^th largest economy in the world, after International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced it on 2^nd September. According to the information, India has taken over United Kingdom in the race and is maintaining global dominance steadily. Based on quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) numbers for the period ending December 2021, the news was shared by Indian Prime Minister when he addressed a virtual event for a medical camp. He said, ‘Recently India achieved a milestone and became 5^th largest economy in the world. This gave us confidence to work harder and achieve bigger goals in this Amrit kaal.’ He further added that this isn’t ordinary but it makes every Indian proud. The same kind of enthusiasm is required for future.

While mentioning the nation’s accomplishment, Prime Minister Modi applauded Gujarat administration for its various welfare reforms and called Bhartiya Janta Party as a ‘double engine government’. He has served as a Chief Minister of the state since 2001 to 2014 before becoming Prime Minister. India followed United States, Germany, Japan and China on the list. Economists speculated that India’s economy will expand year by year, if it will grow with the same speed. Experts are considering it as a remarkable opportunity for India to scale up other required projects and decisions for boosting it.

Ravi Chaudhary is an Indian economist who shared his judgement over the achievement and country’s economy. According to him, it was estimated in past that economy will grow. He said, ‘We estimated it way before. Lot of factors is contributing in it. Our economy wasn’t affected the way others got due to government’s intervention. Our market laws play a vital role in keeping a balance and stability within the country at an appropriate time. The regulation on cryptocurrency will also play a major part in securing the market manipulations by investors or entrepreneurs as we are heading towards Digital India.’ As Ravi said, India’s economy growth is nothing surprise but is a result of hard work.

Prime Minister Modi indicated health as a significant factor of development. He emphasized on medical infrastructure that have been built under his political party and in states led by his party. He urged doctors to spread awareness about the importance of nutritious food and change in lifestyle.

Twitter broke after the news as people celebrated it. Uday Kotak, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Kotak Mahindra Bank tweeted, ‘Proud moment for India to pip UK, our colonial ruler, as the 5^th largest economy’. Meenakshi Lekhi, Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture in her given statement said, ‘Before 2014, we were in fragile five economies. It is a huge feat to become the fifth largest economy and surpass an economy like Britain from that position.’ Even though India has successfully made it to top 5 economies of the world, the per capita income is still low. Ravi told EAT news, ‘Yes, the per capita income is low in India because of the population. Since we are still developing and expanding economy, increasing per capita income among billions of people, where on one side we are also facing unemployment issues at sections, becomes difficult. This is not a one-day job and we need to think in this direction. Improvement in per capita income will enhance the lifestyle of people in this country’. India with 1.4 billion population is going through population crisis with unemployment, poverty, gender inequality, illiteracy.

But Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Railways communications and electronics has a different opinion. An excerpt from his piece of writing says, ‘In 2020, PM Modi used his vast experience in governance to embark on building a New India though his vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat. He focused on ensuring that no family stays hungry during the worst pandemic of the century. And simultaneously, he set in motion a new investment cycle for the economy.’ Another excerpt says, ‘It was his experience of Gujarat and his deep understanding of global economies during their growth phases that shaped the investment programmes in manufacturing, mining, housing and infrastructure. These three sectors of economy are the biggest employment generators. The services sector rides on the back of growth in these sectors’. 

Current unemployment rate of rural areas in country is 6.8 per cent whereas in urban it is 8.7 per cent, according to Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). Statistics disclose two third of Indians live in poverty. 313 million people in India are illiterate out of which 59 per cent of them are women. Whereas gender inequality has been a major issue in India from a very long time. We are moving forward by building strong economy but there are still lot of sectors that we need to look in and work. India has certainly achieved a milestone under present administration, but we have miles to go.