Cover Story

India at 2047: A Reform Blueprint of 100 Ideas to Power the Journey to Viksit Bharat
The list sets out an expansive vision for India's future through 100 recommendations. These 100 ideas are not a prediction, they are a call for action.

2025-08-17

Significant challenges remain in building a secure CKYC

The central know your customer model, the cornerstone of India's digital public infrastructure, aims to revolutionise financial onboarding by creating a seamless, unified digital identity for all financial interactions. But significant challenges remain

Can India's $1 trillion AI ambition and homegrown talent overcome deep tech gaps and global rivals?

As India dreams of a $1 trillion AI economy, can ambition and homegrown talent overcome deep tech gaps and global rivals?

Heal the world: Will India achieve its target of becoming a health tourism hub by 2047?

India is aiming to become a health tourism destination by 2047. This would need mastering not just drugs and vaccines but also hospital care, diagnostics, digital systems, and clinical expertise. Can it achieve the target?

India’s infra build out is vital for the Viksit Bharat vision. But financing is a challenge

Hyperloop, flying pods, climate resilient and smart urban amenities with integrated water, sanitation and waste systems are a must for India to become a developed country by 2047. However, financing remains a challenge.

Why the next phase of labour reforms should aim to modernise workplace regulations

Why the next phase of labour reforms should aim to modernise workplace regulations and foster a more dynamic labour market.

To become a global powerhouse, Indian business groups need to look out for is the changing geopolitical world order

One of the developments Indian business groups need to look out for is the changing geopolitical world order and the realignment of countries like US, China, Russia, and Turkey

Global headwinds and muted demand will test the resilience of Indian groups making a global splash

Rising Confidence, access to capital and execution muscle have birthed a hungry india inc. but global headwinds and muted demend will test te resilience of indian groups making a global splash.

Will the next phase of reforms pave the way for even fewer rates and stable GST revenues?

It's taken eight years to build consensus on rationalising rates of goods and services tax. Will the next phase of reforms pave the way for even fewer rates and stable revenues?

Interview

"NDA 3.0 has been relatively quiet on reforms," says economist Richard Rossow

Richard Rossow, Senior Adviser and Chair on India and Emerging Asia Economics, Center for Strategic International Studies, on why reforms have slowed under NDA 3.0 and what it would take for India to meet its 2047 goals

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on plans to make the Goa 2037 vision a reality

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Pandurang Sawant talks about initiatives to make the Goa 2037 vision a reality, diversify the state's revenue sources away from tourism, and why the GST system needs some tweaks

Cut through the jungle of controls: NITI Aayog member Arvind Virmani

Arvind Virmani, member of the NITI Aayog, on reforms and charging up India's growth

Columns

Betting on India's Consumer: Ravi Lambah

The country's long runway of growing affluence and consumption spend, coupled with proliferating digital fluency, establishes structural resilience.

Return To The Rich Cub: Prakash Loungani

A secret ingredient may help make India's re-entry a durable one....

The future of consumption: Rohit Kumar Singh

By 2047, the real revolution will be that of the Indian consumer. She will emerge as a powerful force shaping markets, ethics, and innovation.

Transform rural India: Rajesh Shukla

The future of Bharat is not in preserving its rural past, but in reimagining its economic potential

A revolution in mobility: Satyanarayanan Chakravarthy

The world is fast moving towards on-demand mobility, away from private ownership of vehicles. Well before 2047, we can envision electric aircraft plying domestic routes primarily, at about half the present-day fares.

Going from Reform to Reinvention: Manish Aggarwal

While the IBC has successfully fulfilled its foundational purpose, it now needs to evolve to address emerging economic realities and system constraints.

India needs a sovereign AI ecosystem: Vivek Raghavan

The case for a sovereign AI ecosystem is not about isolation. It is about control, resilience, and relevance on the global stage.

Empowering women, powering tech: Sindhu Gangadharan

To realise the vision of Viksit Bharat, we must ensure that India’s workforce is not only future-ready but also equitably led.

A new era for start-ups: Kunal Bahl

With India approaching its centennial in 2047, it is seeing a dawn of the golden era of Indian start-ups

A deep tech future: Mani Vembu

While deep-tech will not deliver instant results, it will yield long-term pay-offs that are worth the wait.

India’s deep tech moment: Chaitanya Gupta

With the race for dominance in emerging technologies like AI, quantum, defence, and energy, India's RDI investment arrives at a pivotal moment.

Reengineer India's IPR Framework: Sunil Mani

India must create a proactive, sector-driven IP governance model, converting IP from a defensive shield into a catalyst for industrial transformation.

Scaling MSMEs for Viksit Bharat: Swapnil Kothari and Dr Rumki Majumdar

Despite a series of reforms in recent years, formalisation of MSMEs has been impacted by large companies maximising market share, trivialising the benefits available to MSMEs.

Towards a Less Taxing GST: D.K. Srivastava

India's GST is still an incomplete story, as a large share of sales pertaining to petroleum products, agricultural products, electricity, and real estate remains outside its purview.

Building Rural India: Surendranath Tripathi

When we talk of Viksit Bharat, we also have to focus on Building Rural India's - our BRI - a crucial part of the country.

Beyond Trade Deals: Ajay Srivastava

To unlock export potential, the government will have to undertake domestic reforms that make India's manufacturing and services competitive, cut costs, and streamline logistics.

Federalism in the Regulatory Era: Haseeb Drabu

The rise of the regulatory state with its diffused apparatus has serious implications for the existing federal construct.

India’s Knowledge Economy: Rao Inderjit Singh

The NITI Aayog has emerged as a visionary catalyst - charting a road map not just for today's progress but for tomorrow's prosperity.

Will Poverty Still Haunt India in 2047? S. Mahendra Dev

Economic growth is needed, but inclusion and sustainability are equally important to reduce poverty and improve the living conditions of vast sections of the population.

The Future of Consumption: Rohit Kumar Singh

By 2047, the real revolution will be that of the Indian consumer. She will emerge as a powerful force shaping markets, ethics, and innovation.

Improving Manufacturing's Share in GDP: Manak Chand Singhi & R. Gopalan

The government has a big role in improving infrastructure, maintaining a reserve of critical inputs and overhauling GST.

Roll Back Population Control: Sanjeev Sanyal & Sayandeb Banerjee

India's TFR has crashed below replacement rates. It is time to roll back population control policies. This should be done even in Bihar and UP, as they are now single-handedly supporting the national average.

Editor's Note