Time for India to become a top nation by per capita income
India has doubtless achieved a seminal milestone by surpassing its erstwhile colonial master, the UK to become the 5th largest economy in the world with a $4.1 trillion[1] GDP to its credit. It is all set to become the third largest economy after the U.S. and China overtaking Germany in the next three years and even touch $7 billion by 2030. India is also a formidable space and nuclear power right there at the top among the US, Europe, China and Russia. Considering that India was an impoverished nation with an almost non-existent industrial base and often required foreign help to feed its people at the time of independence, its growth is very impressive indeed.
But the constant tom tomming of the nation’s arrival on the world stage as a global colossus is misplaced and shows us in a very poor light. It is all very well for a nation of 1.4 billion people to aggregate an annual income of $4.1 billion, but the real test of a nation’s prosperity is its wealth ranking in terms of per capita income. With a per capita income of $2848, India ranks a poor 143rd out of 195 countries.[2] The corresponding figure for the UK in contrast stands at $51,070 placing it at a creditable 21st place worldwide. India also fares quite poorly on the Global World Hunger Index at 111 out of 125 countries, despite the green revolution and the massive subsidized…
