India’s diversity is renowned, contributing to its unique beauty across various domains including technology, science, society, and the environment. Each Indian has the potential to contribute significantly to their country’s economic growth. Throughout history, Indians have proven themselves as invaluable assets with notable figures like Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Satyajit Ray, and Sam Pitroda. Their exceptional innovation skills surpass those of many other nations. Looking ahead to the future, we contemplate how India’s socio-economic status, scientific and technological advancements, living standards, and related fields will evolve by 2050.
Despite the challenges posed by busy roads, tight schedules, high population density, and health hazards, Indians take pride in their culture. Additionally, while also providing cheap labor to multinational corporations, we remain the primary drivers of our eco-friendly cultural values. Even though indirectly, our actions serve humanity.
India has witnessed an impressive surge in population, adding 181 million individuals between 2001 and 2011. This growth falls just short of Brazil’s entire population. Nonetheless, a considerable proportion of India’s people, precisely 76 percent, reside on less than US$2 per day (at purchasing power parity rates). Despite experiencing substantial expansion over the past decade, India lags behind other countries when it comes to per capita-level consumption indicators such as energy, electricity, and similar metrics.
The majority of India’s population growth is found among the poorest socio-economic group. In 2009, wealthier Indian states had a fertility rate below 2.1, which is not enough to sustain population stability based on infant mortality standards seen in developed countries. On the other hand, Bihar and other financially disadvantaged states had fertility rates around 4.0.
India’s growth demonstrates its reliance on the ‘demographic dividend’ to drive development. This term refers to a phase when a substantial part of a nation’s population falls within the working age bracket. Experts estimate that this factor contributed 25% to 40% towards East Asia’s remarkable economic progress in the late 20th century.
India stands apart from East Asia in multiple aspects. Its population density is nearly triple the average in East Asia and over eight times higher than the global average of 45 people per square kilometer. If India’s population reaches around 1.69 billion by 2050, it will result in over 500 individuals per square kilometer. Moreover, India’s infrastructure development lags significantly behind that of East Asian nations before their economic boom. In terms of education, healthcare, roads, electricity, housing, and employment growth, both soft and hard infrastructure aspects exhibit evident strain within India.
Despite India’s energy capacity being just over 200 gigawatts, it faces a shortage of coal for its new power stations and uncertain future supply. On the other hand, China has a capacity exceeding 1000 gigawatts and aims to generate 600 gigawatts of clean electricity by 2020. However, China’s annual coal mining reaches nearly four billion tonnes, negatively impacting both local and global air quality. In comparison, India’s mining rate is significantly lower at only 600 million tonnes per year. Nevertheless, India may need to increase this rate in order to meet its growing energy needs, leading to rising pollution levels similar to those in China.
In addition to the challenges with coal supply, India heavily relies on importing 80 percent of its crude oil requirements. This heavy reliance has resulted in an unsustainable current account deficit surpassing 5 percent of its GDP. Moreover, prospects for alternative energy sources like shale gas are unpromising for India.
India is currently experiencing a significant food supply crisis, with per capita food grain production reaching levels similar to those in the 1970s. From 2005 to 2007, the average daily calorie intake per person in India was only 2,300 calories, which is below the poverty line set for rural areas at 2,400 calories per day. Furthermore, this decrease in calorie consumption has persisted in recent years.
India cannot afford to disregard the cautionary Malthusian forecasts regarding food availability until 2050 or beyond. The global food costs have surged to unprecedented heights, affecting India as well which is grappling with soaring food inflation.
India’s potential success in meeting the needs of its expanding population is overshadowed by concerns about the long-term environmental impact of its growth. The global demand for water is predicted to increase by over 50% from 2000 to 2050, while food demand will double. Producing one ton of food grains necessitates approximately one thousand tons of water. As a result, disputes over water resources have become more frequent in India and often require intervention from the Supreme Court.
The probable reason is that policy makers have performed abysmally in all measurable aspects. This becomes apparent when comparing India to China. Despite criticism of violating human dignity and rights, efforts should be made to minimize such measures whenever feasible; history has shown us that dire circumstances call for extreme actions. Numerous institutions will scrutinize the accomplishments and deficiencies of the one-child policy, but it successfully decreased China’s population by a potential 400 million individuals.
India cannot be classified as a developed nation until it addresses the problems of poverty, hunger, and suffering experienced by the impoverished individuals on the streets and those residing in slums. The fact that millions of people in India continue to survive on less than one dollar per day is a cause for concern.
According to the Wealth Report 2012 by Knightfrank and Citi Private Bank, India is projected to surpass the US and China and become the economic superpower by 2050 with a GDP of $85.97 trillion and an impressive economic growth rate of 8%.
The success of Indian high-tech companies should be based on performance and results rather than metrics catering to specific interest groups. To establish global leadership, these companies must recognize global needs and utilize technology accordingly.
It is crucial for these companies to identify necessary services for improving healthcare, education, and economic models in underdeveloped segments of society. Currently, the high-tech industry is experiencing disruptive changes due to the shift towards cloud-based services.
India aspires not only to become a superpower, but also to achieve remarkable advancements in health, education, business, urbanization, and rural development. The ultimate goal is to establish a poverty-free society with no slums and plentiful job opportunities. These aspirations are shared by all Indians. By collaborating, we can undoubtedly witness our beloved INDIA IN 2050 prospering as a highly developed and prosperous nation.
