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India Is Still in Its Developing Phase — What, in Your Opinion, Should Be the Major Focus Area?
Leads:
- Infrastructure
- Education
- Trade
"A nation's development is the sum of what it builds, how it learns, and how it earns — but the foundation is always education."
1) Infrastructure
- Growth Catalyst: Infrastructure development drives employment, improves logistics, and attracts foreign investment.
- Key Initiatives:
- PM Gati Shakti Yojana: ₹100 lakh crore plan to build multimodal connectivity across India.
- Bharatmala and Sagarmala Projects improving road and port infrastructure.
- Smart Cities Mission upgrading urban living standards.
- Gaps Remain: Over 35% of rural India lacks access to all-weather roads, and urban transport systems remain overstressed.
- Energy, Transport, Digital Infra are critical for a modern economy.
✅ Impact: Infrastructure creates an economic multiplier effect, boosting trade, tourism, and regional balance.
2) Education
- Foundation of Development: Quality education shapes human capital, innovation, governance, and productivity.
- NEP 2020 Reforms:
- Holistic, multilingual, skill-based learning.
- Focus on early childhood education and higher education autonomy.
- Challenges:
- India spends just 2.9% of GDP on education (below global average of ~4.5%).
- Dropout rates, outdated curriculum, and teacher shortage plague public education.
- Skill Development:
- Programs like Skill India Mission aim to train 500 million youth by 2025.
- PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) supports short-term vocational training.
✅ Impact: Education is a long-term enabler — solving unemployment, poverty, inequality, and fostering global competitiveness.
3) Trade
- Economic Growth Driver: Trade boosts GDP, foreign exchange, industrial output, and global alliances.
- India’s Export Vision 2047:
- Target of $2 trillion in exports by 2047.
- Focus on Make in India and PLI schemes to make India a global manufacturing hub.
- Trade Agreements:
- FTA negotiations with EU, Australia.
- The India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA), formally the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), was signed in July 2025 with the goal of boosting bilateral trade to an estimated $120 billion by 2030. It provides duty-free access for 99% of Indian exports and 90% of UK exports, benefiting sectors like textiles, whisky, and automobiles. The agreement also includes provisions for professional mobility, public procurement, and digital trade.
- Act East and Look West policies boosting regional trade.
- Bottlenecks:
- Logistics cost (~14% of GDP) is higher than China (8%).
- Non-tariff barriers, bureaucratic red tape, and slow port clearances affect trade potential.
✅ Impact: Trade builds wealth, but without strong education and infrastructure, India cannot fully leverage trade opportunities.
Conclusion (Balanced View): All three — infrastructure, education, and trade — are essential pillars. But for a country still in the developing phase, education should be the highest priority, as it empowers citizens, fuels innovation, and strengthens both infrastructure and trade in the long run. A well-educated population is the true engine of sustainable and inclusive development.
