What does it take for a developing country to transform into a developed one? | India News

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set an ambitious target of making India a developed nation by 2047.
During his speech at Red Fort to mark the 76th Independence Day, the PM coined ‘Panch Pran’ or lifeblood resolves for the nation when it celebrates its 100th year of Independence in 2047. “For the next 25 years, we need to focus on the ‘Panch Pran’. The first is making India a developed country,” he had said.

Though there is no global consensus on what parameters a developing nation has to cross to be declared a developed country, experts monitor certain indicators to determine a nation’s progress.
Human Development Index
A developed country is typically characterised by a relatively high level of economic growth, a general standard of living, and higher per capita income as well as performing well on the Human Development Index (HDI) that includes education, literacy and health.
The HDI is a statistical composite index combining factors such as life expectancy, education, and per capita income that is used to categorise nations into four tiers of human development: Very high, high, medium and low. The HDI uses average annual income and educational expectations to rank and compare countries, and evaluate the level of individual human development in each country.

As per the last Human Development Report, the HDI rank of India is 131 (out of 189), with a score of 0.645. India is categorised as having Medium Human Development.
Norway tops the list with an HDI score of 0.957 while the US has a score of 0.926 and ranks 17. China has an HDI of 0.761 and ranks 85 — it had a score of 0.645 back in 2006.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) began publishing its annual HDI report in 1990. At the time, India had a score of 0.429.
Economic growth
India is the world’s sixth-largest economy with a GDP of USD 2.7 trillion (constant 2015 US$), and is expected to grow at over 7% in the current fiscal year ending in March 2023 – the fastest among major economies. China had reached the USD 2.7 trillion-mark back in 2000.

Many experts say India’s economy could expand to become the world’s third-largest by 2050 after the United States and China.

GDP per capita
India was classified as a ‘third-world’ country at the time of Independence from British rule in 1947. But over the past 7 decades, its GDP has grown from Rs 2.7 lakh crore to Rs 150 lakh crore.
Countries with higher gross domestic product per capita showcase traits of a developed nation.
As per World Bank data, India’s GDP per capita stood at $2,277.4 in 2021 — China reached this level back in 2007.

In comparison, that of developed countries like China, USA and UK stand at $12,556.3, $69,287.5 and $47,334.4.
Gross National Income
India’s per capita income — currently around $2,100 — may remain low compared to many countries. China had a GNI per capita of $2,100 back in 2006, it now stands at $11,890.

The World Bank currently categorises India as a lower-middle income economy – meant for countries with a gross national income per capita of between $1,086 and $4,255. High income countries, like the United States, have a per capita income of $13,205 or more.
As per the data, it is clear that India is on the path to become a developed nation but the jury is out on whether it will become one in the next 25 years.
Countries like the United States already see India as a future challenger to China’s dominating influence in Asia and beyond.
US President Joe Biden on Sunday congratulated India on its Independence Day and said the US and India were “indispensable partners” that would continue to work together to address global challenges in the years ahead.
When compared to the developed countries or China, India has a fair distance to cover. A 2018 diagnostic report on India by the World Bank said: “Even though India is the world’s third-largest economy in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms, most Indians are still relatively poor compared to people in other middle income or rich countries. Ten per cent of Indians, at most, have consumption levels above the commonly used threshold of $10 (PPP) per day expenditures for the global middle class.”
Also, “Other metrics, such as the food share of consumption, suggest that even rich households in India would have to see a substantial expansion of their total consumption to reach levels of poor households in rich countries.”
(With inputs from agencies)