Development Strategy for Future India and Atmanirbhar Bharat: A Way Forward

Abstract

This article examines the issues and development strategies for transforming the Indian economy into a developed nation by 2047, to which it aspires. We observe that the protectionist development strategy followed in the first four decades of independence could not bring the country out of poverty and only protected vested interests. In the last three decades, the economy did reasonably well in terms of economic growth as a result of the adoption of the strategy of economic liberalization. The pitfalls of liberalization were realized in terms of increasing inequalities and external dependencies, and stagnancy in manufacturing capacity. COVID-19 exposed the limitations of global supply chains. To lessen the shortcomings of the liberalization, the Government of India introduced the Atmanirbhar Bharat Package. It is expected that the Package will make the economy competitive and facilitate in achieving the objective of an inclusive developed nation.