10 Ideas for 10%

May 30, 2019, 14:21 IST/2 min read

A growth guide for the next government

A growth guide for the next government

At a time when India is struggling to register an economic growth rate of 5 per cent per annum, it would seem a trifle too ambitious to even contemplate 10 per cent. A complacent India has got a rude reality check these past two years, but that is no reason to scale down on ambition. If India wants to become a poverty-free, middle-income country in the next 20 years—and that would only mean attaining the level of prosperity China already has—its economy needs to grow in double digits.

There are several factors that could renew India's growth story. Some of the measures that can be taken to restore the economy to an 8 per cent trajectory, the trend India witnessed between 2004 and 2008, are obvious. The Government needs to rein its spending in. It needs to restrain its impulse to delay clearances given to private sector projects. It needs to revive the faith of the investor—both domestic and foreign—in India's economic potential. All this would require the Indian State to revisit its basic instincts. But it's not impossible.

By themselves, none of those measures may be enough to achieve 10 per cent growth. For that, the Government would need to think big—and out-of-the-box. It will need to stride purposefully into the realm of what seems impossible but isn't. Starting next month, Indians will vote for a new government. Every election opens up the prospect of change, not merely in personnel but also by way of policy. India has been in a slump, and to break out of stagnancy, it's time to consider some radical ideas that could transform the country's future.

In this edition of Openomics, we feature ten such radical ideas. This is by no means an exhaustive list of what India needs, but indicative of the kind of policy thinking that is necessary. India cannot afford to lose any more time, not when it so desperately needs a 10 per cent decade.