When we think of economic reforms we must think of terms such as economy, business, employment, education, and health. A sustainable approach is the need of the hour, and a truly realistic ‘action plan’ should be the priority to ensure that the current expansion of the economy is sustainable, and candor and evenhandedness must strengthen the core of reforms.
We saw the confidence and courage of the finance ministry on January 29, 2024 as it said, “India is expected to become the third-largest economy in the world with a GDP of US$5 trillion in the next three years, and touch US$7 trillion by 2030 on the back of continued reforms.
All citizens should get fair treatment from the so-called ‘efficient’ bureaucracy—fair in listening, fair in evaluating people’s skills, enhancing human capital, and fair in creating awareness on policies and their well-timed implementation.
The focus of reforms at all stages should be on economic and social transformation. The missing ingredients in this process are ‘real’ reforms such as behavioural skills, and human values. A sustainable human development approach must be cultivated among the youth from a very young age.
Today’s youth are tomorrow’s policymakers. We need to transform the informal job landscape, reduce barriers to business development, and create a conducive environment. Job creation—especially for the fragile and middle-income class groups across the country—has been a challenge for India since independence. The villain of the piece is nothing but the sheer failure of policymakers.
Many fruitful economic policies go unfished after the first 12 months of enthusiasm. At the same time, we witness competent bureaucrats pathetically fail here and there, and often the continuity of administrative leadership becomes a challenge. As we continue to progress in an era of AI revolution, experts call for revamping our civil service systems, and help the nation adapt to simplified and public-friendly administrative policies.
Economic reforms must bear fruit. After a long wait, will the tax reforms create a new level playing field for the economy and the middle-class? Reactions have been mixed, confused, misunderstood and varied. Are policymakers really understand the skyrocketing cost of living in India?
Economists, experts and lawmakers are too busy these days with economic data—GDP, inflation, repo rates of the East and West, North and South, US Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, market capitalization, geopolitics, terrorism, arm deals, defence, wars and conflicts—and competing each other, and breaking brains.
Economic and social reforms are correlated, and we must address them together at the right time. More precisely, real boiling issues in the society are often discounted. Ultimately, the process of decision-making is largely influenced by the mental health of policymakers in particular, and the society, in general.
On May 26, 2014, we saw PM Narendra Modi opening a new chapter in India’s history, and media reported “dawn of a new era”, “India begins Modi era”, etc. Today, post-budget (as we stand tall?), are we successful in ‘cutting the red tape’, and curbing corruption? Despite the government’s concerted efforts, India witnesses a series of scams—banking, capital market, cybercrimes, tax evasion, human-trafficking, education-related crimes, etc. When one institution collapses, jobseekers’ dreams collapse.
According to official data released on February 18, 2025, t in the urban areas of India was 6.4 per cent for the period of October to December 2024 for persons of age 15 years and above. For male, the unemployment rate was 5.8 per cent, while for female it was 8.1 per cent.
Poor economic reforms results in income and gender inequality, and serve extreme pressures on the economy, businesses and the middle-class—one of the key pillars of economic activity.
The rest of the world grapples with aging population, but India’s population is on the rise as it stands at 1.4 billion, but as we hear several incidents of money laundering, stock price-rigging, murders, and anti-social activities, real human development remains a day dream. India has high fertility rates, with youth populations yet to peak. Of course, a society is be a blend of all these components, but we can strive to achieve a desirable degree of human development.
In the next three decades, half of all new entrants into the global labour market is expected to come from India, requiring the creation of millions of new jobs annually. It’s a challenge and an opportunity for India and its policymakers.
Domestic and international businesses have much to gain from our thriving human capital. India’s human capital has been the key engine of growth for many developed economies, but India has utilised only a fraction of its rich human capital.
Failures, in the past, had aggravated poverty, fuelled instability, and migration has been on the rise for decades, and even today the outflow of human capital from our beloved India continues. Policymakers must strive for reforms that could create a new path for millions of jobseekers, and show them a better future.
Any policy failure could strike sustainable development like ‘a bolt from the blue’. Yes, in Mumbai, and many other Indian cities and villages, people survive in the wild. Let’s expect the unexpected, but we need a large goodie bag from PM Modi, marked “India’s economic and human development”.
--palazhi.ashok@fpj.co.in
