The $5 Trillion Economy : The Trump Card Or Just A Bluff?

We are the inheritance of one of the most glorious yet diversified past. There was a time when our country was the chartbuster in the fields of culture, politics and economical.

If we go through our history books, we find that it has actually been a rollercoaster ride for our grey-haired country. From being the golden bird to being in the cages for decades under the rule of tourists turned invaders.

Today, being a part of this strange beauty, we look around us in the present, and we see development, somewhere in tortoise steps and somewhere in leaps and bounds.

But what’s before us is unknown. And maybe that’s the beauty of the future that even though it’s unknown, it’s the only thing that gives us hope.

So, our country is ready to take its leap, THE $5 TRILLION ECONOMY by 2024. From being a $2.8 trillion economy till date. A leap worth a growth rate of 12% a year. Looking from outside, it might appear as a really high mark set up.

But the question is: Is it achievable or just a bluff?

Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the budget, said the Modi 2.0 cabinet is all about making India a $5 trillion economy by 2024.

On Saturday, PM Modi stitched every topic of the Union budget with how India will attain 5 trillion economy. "Everyone is a stakeholder in this country," PM Narendra Modi said while addressing the BJP workers in Varanasi.

The Modi pact has its guns out and plans before us.

The most urgent task confronting Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he starts his second term in office is to restore momentum to an economy that has lagged to its slowest pace in five years. India grew by 5.8 percent in the first three months of the year, falling from its perch as the world's fastest growing major economy.

The Prime Minister said that his government has made provisions in the budget to make farming profitable and turn farmers into exporters.

"We have taken many decisions to ensure additional income for farmers. We look at farmers as potential exporters. The Budget has focused on making an environment to export farm products. We are trying to develop a cluster so that all government departments can make export easier," he said.

Modi also emphasised the role of blue economy, a reference to resources available in the sea, and said the government has taken several initiatives in food processing and water security for the sustainable economic progress of the country.

Highlighting his government's scheme to provide housing for every citizen, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Rs 100 lakh crore would be invested in infrastructure development.

Backing the move to encourage adoption of electric vehicles as a clear mobility medium, he claimed that India can save over Rs 5 lakh crore by reducing petroleum imports bill per year.

These are just a few clauses of this prototypical budget. The pages unfold the envision of the bright future.

But the hurdles aren’t no less. Critics said the government, however, did not lay out a roadmap to liberalize stringent labour and land laws, which have been stumbling blocks in India's efforts to attract investors.

In response, the government tried to clear the black stains with a justification,

We can say demonetization was a failure but it was in the direction of fighting corruption, along withGST (goods and service tax), shell company shutdowns,RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Authority), NFRA (National Financial Reporting Authority), PAN-Aadhaar link and rule-based auctions. The political will of going after this parallel economy was manifest. This legitimization is essential before we turn to $5 trillion.

This can be the Indian renaissance but could also turn out to be a deep trench.

The aspirations are high but so are our benchmarks. We can be the generation to witness the renaissance but a little support, a lot more patience and mostly faith is what we can give from the change. This government have few white lines and few black ones on itself, but the hope for the bright future is what we can expect.

Will there be a leap to the $5 trillion cloud or a steep fall into the dead end?