NEW DELHI: India will nearly double per capita income in the next five years and will see steepest rise in living standards for its citizens, along with reduced inequality on account of the reforms undertaken by government, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday.
“While it took us 75 years to reach a per capita income of $2,730, as per IMF projections, it will take only five years to add another $2,000.The upcoming decades will see the steepest rise in living standards for the common man, truly making it a period-defining era for an Indian to live in,” she said at the Kautilya Economic Conclave.
She said India can also gain from the dynamic geopolitical situationwhich are seeing a reorientation of the global supply chain.
“India also finds itself amid a global geopolitical re-positioning. This re-positioning can act as a structural force to India’s advantage by creating robust supply chains with countries with strategic congruence. India benefits from the new international order, which is reshaping better to reflect the power distribution of today’s world.”
FM said that India’s young population, strong growth in consumption, the innovation boom and a strong financial system will help India grow faster.
Sitharaman also flagged the challenges confronting India, including the geopolitical risks in a “fragmented and fractured world where several persistent conflicts may worsen”.
She also spoke of the need to navigate through a world with the legacy of emissions from developed countries and India’s energy transition. “Finally, the advent of new technologies may leave a more lasting impact on labor, including workers at all levels, than previous industrial revolutions did. The resulting economic and social impacts may be more profound than the world has experienced. While this is a global phenomenon, it is more acute for India, given its vast young population and the need to create livelihoods for millions,” FM said at the annual event for top economists jointly hosted by the finance ministry and IEG.
