India's Development Beyond Elections: Vaishnaw's Vision

New Delhi, Oct 15 (PTI) The government is laying the process of development which is 'beyond the cycle of elections' for India to be able to grow six to seven times the current level to become a developed nation by 2047, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Tuesday.

Addressing a symposium by the Indian Foundation for Quality Management (IFQM), the Minister for Railways, Information and Broadcasting, and Electronics & IT, said one of the key elements of the government's goal of a developed nation is having "a very inclusive and harmonious society".

For India to become a developed nation by 2047, the target for measurable parameters is "USD 18,000 per capita income and USD 30 trillion nominal GDP", he said.

"Today, we are just shy of USD 4 trillion nominal (GDP), just shy of about USD 3,000 nominal per capita. It means we have a path where we need to grow about '6x' '7x' in the next 25 years," Vaishnaw asserted.

Sharing the government's approach to meet the target, the minister said, "It needs a very strong foundation, a very carefully thought through strategy, meticulous execution, and laying the process of development, which is beyond the cycle of elections."

He further said that the intent of the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to build further on the foundation laid in the past ten years.

"What we are going to do in these five years of Prime Minister Modi, his third term, will be beyond the cycle of elections, will be beyond the cycle of business cycles," Vaishnaw said.

Taking a dig at the Opposition without naming anyone, he added it will be beyond "people who can, who have a lot of destructive mindsets. It's beyond the capability of such destructive mindsets. That's the thought process."

Elaborating on what the government meant by becoming a developed nation, the minister said, "First is a very inclusive and harmonious society. First and foremost is a very inclusive and harmonious society, a society which cares for everybody, a society which considers every section of the society as equally important and gives opportunities for everybody to come up."

He further said, "The second big element of being a Viksit Bharat is to have the social, physical and digital infra place in place." The third, he said is meeting the measurable parameters of per capita income and GDP to meet the set targets.