NITI Aayog's Vice Chairman and Economist Suman Bery has announced that the country's growth strategy will be "female-led" with a goal of consistent 8 per cent growth over the next 25 years.
"The prime minister has made clear what is expected from us. Inclusive growth, and in particular, growth led by women," Mr. Suman stated in 2023 at the Global Economic Policy Forum of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
The statement is significant because the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has made women's empowerment a top priority in the lead-up to the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. The party won the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections, with experts citing its success in the Laadli Behna Yojana which is an economic welfare scheme for women.
The Centre expects India to achieve 8 per cent growth in the coming years, requiring political management for continuous change to transcend the middle-income trap and become a high-income country by 2047, says the VC.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will present a vision document for 2047 that NITI is currently working on.
The chief executive officer of the think tank, BVR Subrahmanyam, claims that as the government prepares the 25-year vision, avoiding the middle-income trap is one of its main concerns.
According to VC Suman Bery, the fast momentum could also show up as "spatial inequalities." He also mentioned that a difference in the performance of the northern and southern states could lead to conflicts within a federal polity.
