New Delhi: In a bold vision for the future, India aims to catapult itself into the league of high-income nations by 2047. This ambitious goal, outlined by the World Bank in its latest report, hinges on sustaining an average annual growth rate of 7.8% over the next two decades. As India’s economy continues to grow, with recent years seeing an acceleration to a 7.2% average, the challenge now lies in maintaining this momentum amidst global economic headwinds. On February 28, 2025, in New Delhi, the World Bank emphasized the need for comprehensive reforms across financial, land, and labor sectors to achieve this target.
The World Bank’s India Country Economic Memorandum, titled “Becoming a High-Income Economy in a Generation,” highlights India’s remarkable economic journey. Over the past two decades, India’s GDP has nearly quadrupled, and its share in the global economy has doubled. However, to reach high-income status, India’s gross national income (GNI) per capita must increase nearly eightfold by 2047. This requires not just maintaining current reforms but intensifying them, especially in areas like investment, structural transformation, and job creation.
Auguste Tano Kouame, World Bank Country Director for India, noted that countries like Chile, Korea, and Poland have successfully transitioned to high-income status by deepening their integration into the global economy. India can chart its own path by leveraging its demographic dividend, investing in human capital, and enhancing female labor force participation from 35.6% to 50% by 2047.
The report outlines three growth scenarios, emphasizing the need to raise the investment rate, accelerate productivity growth through innovation and digitalization, and ensure more inclusive growth across states. It also highlights challenges such as low labor force participation and the concentration of employment in low-productivity sectors.
