Indian Economic Growth

India has emerged as the fastest growing major economy in the world as per the Central Statistics Organisation (CSO) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) and it is expected to be one of the top three economic powers of the world over the next 10-15 years, backed by its strong democracy and partnerships.

A country seeks to achieve economic growth mainly for improving the standards of living of its people. If the rate of economic growth exceeds the rate of population growth, there is likely to be an improvement in the standard of living for the average person. Although India’s overall economy is very strong because of the huge population, the living standard is below the margin level. As per United Nations, India’s HDI ranking stands at the 131^st position among 188 countries.

As the majority of the population in India lives in a rural area, the overall economic growth depends on the cultivation. To uplift the Indian Economy, Union Budget for 2018-19 focused on the rural economy and strengthening of the agriculture sector, healthcare for the economically less privileged, infrastructure creation and improvement in the quality of education of the country. There are three major sources of growth, i.e., the growth of the labor force, capital formation and technological progress.

India is expected to be the third largest consumer economy as its consumption may triple to US$ 4 trillion by 2025, owing to shift in consumer behaviour and expenditure pattern, according to a Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report; and is estimated to surpass USA to become the second largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) by the year 2040, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers.