INDIA EXPERTS 2047IDEAS · PEOPLE · SOLUTIONS
MISSION 01 / INDIA 2047

Economy — Productivity-led prosperity

Raise productivity, incomes, exports and long-term investment.

Illustration of Economy mission
The mission in brief

What India must achieve

Higher living standards require sustained gains in output per worker, broad participation and competitive firms. Aggregate GDP alone is not a sufficient measure of development.

Expand competitive manufacturing and tradable services; improve the business environment for MSMEs; lower logistics friction; strengthen cities as productive clusters.

Our 2047 direction: Raise productivity, incomes, exports and long-term investment. Progress should be measured through outcomes experienced by people and businesses, not announcements alone.

Three challenges to solve

1. Productivity and per-capita income

For economy, this is a system-level constraint. The mission proposes documenting a comparable baseline across states, identifying the institutions responsible and testing solutions before nationwide expansion.

2. Export competitiveness

For economy, this is a system-level constraint. The mission proposes documenting a comparable baseline across states, identifying the institutions responsible and testing solutions before nationwide expansion.

3. Regional inequality

For economy, this is a system-level constraint. The mission proposes documenting a comparable baseline across states, identifying the institutions responsible and testing solutions before nationwide expansion.

Priority solutions

1. Manufacturing and services competitiveness

Develop a practical intervention around manufacturing and services competitiveness, starting with stakeholder mapping, a clearly defined target population, implementation costs and independent measurement. Compare approaches across Indian states and relevant international peers before recommending scale-up.

2. Skills and innovation investment

Develop a practical intervention around skills and innovation investment, starting with stakeholder mapping, a clearly defined target population, implementation costs and independent measurement. Compare approaches across Indian states and relevant international peers before recommending scale-up.

3. Efficient logistics

Develop a practical intervention around efficient logistics, starting with stakeholder mapping, a clearly defined target population, implementation costs and independent measurement. Compare approaches across Indian states and relevant international peers before recommending scale-up.

Roadmap to 2047

2026–2030 Establish transparent baseline and test targeted interventions in economy.
2030–2040 Scale independently evaluated approaches through public-private collaboration.
2040–2047 Track outcomes, address remaining gaps and update the strategy with evidence.

Outcomes to track

  • Productivity per worker
  • real median household income
  • exports by complexity
  • formal enterprise growth.

Proposed first pilot

Pilot district-level productivity compacts pairing firms, skill institutes, logistics operators and local government.

Evidence and further reading

The linked sources provide context; the mission recommendations are independent editorial proposals, not endorsed by the sources.

Read the detailed research brief →