India Does Not Have The "Luxury": Think Tank Contests World Bank Views On Growth

India does not need to follow the traditional approach to development that ties it with per capita income, new research has suggested. It can carry on simultaneous development on all fronts, that would get it to the developed country milestone within 20 years, by 2047, the research said. 

In its report titled "Innovating out of the Middle-Income Trap," the Chintan Research Foundation has suggested that a linear approach need not be followed by a country like India that has a young, strong and skilled work force.

A nation can advance by simultaneously investing in solid infrastructure, judiciously infusing foreign expertise (with caution), and nurturing local innovation ecosystems nations can craft a balanced development pathway, the report has suggested. 

The accepted model of advancement comes from last year's World Development Report from the World Bank. The report, titled "The Middle-Income Trap", suggests that middle income nations follow a linear sequence. 

When a country is low-income, investment in infrastructure is required. Low-middle-income nations should begin "infusion" and only when it crosses the threshold of $14,000 per capita income, it can focus on "innovating" the received technology and exporting it globally.

But India, the Chintan Research Foundation report said, is in a hurry to achieve developed country status - Viksit@47 - and "does not have the luxury to follow the sequential approach to development" as suggested in the World Development Report. Viksit Bharat is not a leap of faith but a calculated extension of measurable and maintainable trends.

The report said the World Bank's cautionary stance on "leapfrogging" (jumping from investment to innovation without following infusion) negates the possibility of faster progress. It reinforces the traditional (view) 'others took 20 years to this path, so you should take the same amount of time too.'

The CRF said its research shows that scientific production is in progress, Indian researchers match or outpace many upper-middle-income peers and talent is flowing toward discovery rather than away from it.