1 week ago
India’s Economic Gains Meet Persistent Challenges of Inclusive Growth
India’s economy has made important progress in recent years.
The government has built more roads, highways, ports, and electrified railway tracks.
Banks are also healthier than they were about a decade ago.
Digital payments and welfare services have grown quickly.
These changes give many people reasons to feel hopeful.
However, many workers still have insecure jobs, and many people live in villages with few opportunities.
Agriculture still employs a large share of workers even though it produces a smaller share of the economy.
Millions of young people enter the job market each year, but the formal economy cannot yet provide enough good jobs.
The article says India needs better education, skills, inclusive growth, and governance reforms to turn economic progress into broader improvements in people’s lives.
India has combined welfare measures, infrastructure investment, and fiscal consolidation during recent global crises.
Public sector banks improved from an aggregate loss of over Rs 85,000 crore in 2017-18 to a net profit of Rs 1,98,000 crore in 2025-26.
Roads, highways, ports, and railway electrification expanded substantially over the past twelve years.
Economic growth is running at about 6.5-7%, supported partly by digital welfare delivery and the Unified Payments Interface.
Large challenges remain, including informal employment, limited rural mobility, low agricultural productivity, inadequate job creation, and unfinished governance reforms.
- Who
- The Union government, Indian workers, rural residents, young job seekers, political parties, and public institutions are central to the discussion.
- What
- The article assesses India’s economic progress while highlighting persistent problems with inclusive growth, employment, and governance.
- Where
- India.
- When
- The assessment focuses mainly on the past decade or twelve years, with fiscal and banking figures extending through 2025-26 and 2026.
- Why
- The author argues that macroeconomic progress has not yet improved opportunities and living standards for enough people, requiring stronger reforms and more employment-generating growth.
Reasons for Hope
Reasons for Concern
Economic performance
Reasons for Hope
Fiscal consolidation, roughly 6.5-7% growth, stronger banks, and improved infrastructure show that India has made substantial economic progress.
Reasons for Concern
Growth remains below India’s potential and has not yet improved the lives of people on a sufficiently broad scale.
Employment and opportunity
Reasons for Hope
Infrastructure investment, digital services, and selected industrial initiatives could support future growth and development.
Reasons for Concern
The formal sector cannot absorb the roughly 12 million workers entering the job market each year, while informal work and low-productivity agriculture remain widespread.
Governance
Reasons for Hope
The government has demonstrated fiscal responsibility and improved policy execution in areas such as infrastructure and financial-sector recovery.
Reasons for Concern
The author says India still needs local-government empowerment, political-party democratisation, electoral reform, and a stronger rule-of-law system.
Key facts
- Economic growth
- Annual growth is described as approximately 6.5-7%.
- Fiscal deficit
- The Union fiscal deficit fell from 9.2% in 2020-21 to 4.8% in 2025-26 and is targeted at 4.4% in FY 2027.
- Public-sector banks
- Aggregate results improved from a loss of over Rs 85,000 crore in 2017-18 to a net profit of Rs 1,98,000 crore in 2025-26.
- Banking stability
- Gross non-performing assets declined from 14.6% in 2018 to 1.93%, while net NPAs reached 0.39%.
- Infrastructure
- The road network grew from about 91,000 km in 2014 to over 146,000 km in 2026; national highways rose from about 18,000 km to 48,000 km.
- Informal employment
- About 85% of the workforce is described as working in the unorganised sector without secure jobs and monthly wages.
- Agriculture
- Up to 46% of workers remain primarily engaged in agriculture, which accounts for about 16-18% of GDP.
- Digital payments
- The Unified Payments Interface has recorded over 240 billion transactions and transferred more than Rs 314 trillion.
Quotes
Charles Dickens
English novelist and author of A Tale of Two Cities
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, .... it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair...”
freepressjournal.in
Sources
Related news
India’s Economic Growth Is Visible Across Multiple Engines
From 'Fragile Five' to world's fastest-growing major economy: Modi
India’s Q1 GDP Grows 7.8% as Reforms Get Credit
Sitharaman Says India Meets FY26 Deficit Target, Sets Debt Goal
Japan’s JCR Upgrades India’s Sovereign Rating to A-
India’s Banking AI Push Revives Old Technology Job Debate
UPI Accepted in 11 Countries, But Payments Vary
Axis Bank Adds Separate UPI Limits for Payment Categories
Credit Card Transactions Surge as Average Spending Falls in July
India Plans Agentic AI Payments Through Popular UPI Network
