New India : reclaiming the lost glory

"Its GDP having touched $2.6 trillion, India is poised to become the world's third largest economy in less than a decade. In doing so, it will have moved one step closer to reclaiming its pre-1820s glory when it accounted for one-sixth of the global output and ranked second in economic size. This rapid movement in the absolute size of the economy will be insufficient, however, to bring prosperity to India's vast population. Today, 44% of the country's workforce remains in agriculture and another 42% in tiny enterprises with fewer than 20 workers. Labour productivity of both sets of workers remains low and they live overwhelmingly on subsistence-level incomes. This book lays down a concise roadmap of reforms that would help the country transform and create well-paid jobs in industry and services for those with limited or no skills. It argues that creation of good jobs requires the emergence of medium and large enterprises in industry and services, especially labour-intensive sectors such as apparel, footwear and other light manufactures. India needs policies conducive to the growth of firms from small to medium, medium to large and large to larger still. They must compete in the global marketplace to help increase India's share in the world export market from less than 2% currently to 5 to 6% in a decade. Such policies include greater outward orientation, more flexible land, labour and capital markets, concerted effort to improve the quality of higher education, faster urbanization and improved governance at all levels."