An ocean of opportunities: The road to India@100

As the country looks ahead after completing 75 years of independence, there is a sense of hope and confidence that the next 25 years will be India’s—where the country will claim its place at the centre of the world stage and lead the way as one of the world’s biggest and most vibrant economies. As the government has articulated, the next 25 years are being seen as India’s journey into Amrit Kaal, a period of enormous possibilities, where the Indian economy will power ahead with a growth agenda that is both futuristic and inclusive. This January, at the World Economic Forum conference in Davos, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw unveiled an EY report that also highlighted how India@100 could well be a $26-trillion economy. Even today, India is among the fastest-growing major economies despite global headwinds; its start-up ecosystem, though young, is already the third-largest in the world; and it is showing the way in technological innovations across sectors. Tomorrow’s India will have to build on these strengths, take advantage of its demographic dividend and play a central role in creating a sustainable future for the world.

As Business Today celebrates its 31st Anniversary this year, we bring you various aspects and views on what we call “Mission 2047: Road to India@100.” A stellar line-up of the biggest names in the world of business and policy give us their views on how they see India going forward over the next 25 years, the challenges it will be up against, and how those can be overcome. From the possibility of India leveraging Industry 4.0 to become a truly global manufacturing hub, to how India can achieve its net-zero ambition by 2070 as pledged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and also become a sustainability champion for the rest of the world, this collector’s issue brings you thoughts and sharp insights on every aspect of the Indian dream for 2047. One common theme you will find across all the columns and stories in this issue is that of technology and digital. The deep-rooted impact the Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile (JAM) trinity has had and the enormous strides India has already taken on the digital front feature repeatedly across these pages. Whether it is the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) that has revolutionised the Indian payments system, the Account Aggregator framework for banks or the newly-launched Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) that will change the rules of the e-commerce game, these are all examples of technological breakthroughs, many of which the rest of the world can emulate.

As India marches towards 2047, global giants are equally keen to participate in this exciting story. As Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai tells us in an exclusive interview: “Technology is going to be one of the important growth drivers for any economy, and India with its talent base and IT expertise—plus the inherent entrepreneurial risk-taking trait—makes me very bullish.” Pichai says he looks at India as a large market where he can do things first and then take them to the rest of the world. That’s hardly surprising. India is an idea whose time has come. Here’s to the next 25 years.