India Can Skip the Line to Development, Says Think Tank, Challenging World Bank’s Model
India doesn’t need to stick to the traditional rulebook on economic development, according to a new report by the Chintan Research Foundation (CRF). Instead of progressing step by step based on rising per capita income, the country can fast-track its journey to becoming a developed nation by 2047 — the target set under the Viksit Bharat@47 vision.
The report, titled “Innovating out of the Middle-Income Trap,” takes aim at the model suggested in last year’s World Development Report by the World Bank. That model outlines a linear path for middle-income countries: first focus on infrastructure, then adopt foreign technologies, and only later innovate and export.
But CRF argues India can’t afford to move that slowly. With a young, skilled, and dynamic workforce, the country has the potential to simultaneously invest in infrastructure, adopt useful foreign expertise with care, and build strong local innovation ecosystems.
The World Bank’s cautious stance against “leapfrogging” — jumping straight to innovation without completing the earlier phases — is too conservative for India’s ambitions, the CRF report argues. India’s drive to reach developed status isn’t wishful thinking, it says, but a logical continuation of trends already visible in scientific output, talent development, and technological progress.
The report also highlights that Indian researchers are performing on par with or even better than their counterparts in many upper-middle-income countries, and the talent pool is increasingly leaning toward innovation and discovery.
In short, the message is clear: India doesn’t have to wait in line — it’s ready to lead.
News Source : Information for this article was gathered from a variety of reliable news outlets.
