New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday termed India’s economic rise as a shift away from “mining” and “colonial” development models, positioning the government’s vision of “Viksit Bharat” as the basis of shared growth and domestic strengths.
Speaking at an event in Karnataka, Sitharaman said India’s emergence as a developed economy would have ramifications beyond its borders. “A developed, stable, democratic, pluralistic India… is not good for India alone. It is good for the entire planet,” she said, describing the country as a bridge between the global north and south.
She underlined India demographic advantage, noting that nearly 900 million people are under the age of 35, which he calls an unprecedented concentration of young human potential. “These young people are impatient and ambitious and have dreams. When India is strong, peace is more likely. When India is prosperous, global supply chains are more resilient,” the minister said.
Sitharaman said attainment Developed nation status would require a broad national effort involving the Union and State Governments, industry, academia and citizens.
At the heart of the ‘Viksit Bharat’ vision, she said, is expanding access to basic services – clean water, quality education, affordable healthcare and economic opportunities – instead of just chasing GDP growth.
Speaking at NITTE, an institute of higher education, the minister said the government’s idea of ’Viksit Bharat’ was not a political slogan created in a meeting room in the capital. It is a journey, not about imitation, but about rediscovering a country’s strengths, self-confidence and place in the world, Sitharaman said.
“Today, India is the world’s fastest-growing major economy. The nation has 1.4 billion people, a median age of 28. It has the largest educated workforce in the world and an ancient entrepreneurial spirit that no colonial interlude could extinguish,” Sitharaman said.
The minister also said that in 1700 CE, India’s share of the global GDP was approximately 24%. After the era of colonialism and India’s independence in 1947, the country’s share of world GDP fell to less than 4%. “Two hundred years of colonial rule not only impoverished us. The destruction was both in the spirit and in the economy,” said the minister, adding that the colonial mindset must be gotten rid of.
