Strengthening our vision for India @2047

India’s journey from becoming a Republic until today is nothing short of inspirational. A young nation like ours has risen from the ashes and achieved significant success over the last few decades. Not only are we rubbing shoulders with the leading countries of the world, we’re being change-makers in more than one way. Noting on India’s G20 presidency, Special Envoy, ACT-Accelerator, and WHO Ayoade Alakija said that "...the world is coming to India not just for discussion but also to learn from it as so much digital transformation is taking place in various sectors, including health, infrastructure, and finance in the country." This is a true reflection of how the nation has made its presence felt globally.

Since 2005, India has made significant progress in alleviating poverty. Over the past eight years, we have seen an acceleration in poverty alleviation through technology and digitalization. In 2014, The Government of India initiated a drive to open 500 million bank accounts for the poor and underprivileged, including 260 million women. With India’s Digital Identity system — Aadhaar, and a Unified Payment Interface (UPI) — interventions and welfare transfers have been targeted at an individual level. In the 1980s, only 15% (15 paise of 1 rupee) reached beneficiaries. During the pandemic in 2020, the nation secured the livelihood of the poorest by making critical targeted cash transfers to tide over the lull. Our world-class digital public infrastructure of identity systems and real-time payment systems is being applauded as a model for the rest of the world, which countries are now trying to adopt.

India has created a resilient economic base and is all set to achieve the status of a developed country over the next 25 years. According to PWC projections, India could have a per capita income of USD 26,000 by 2047, nearly 13 times the current level. The scale and emerging consumption patterns that the country stands to offer in the next quarter of the century are unmatched. With a large domestic consumption base, the seventh-highest final consumption expenditure in the world, private and government consumption making up over 70% of the GDP, and per capita income slated to grow at accelerated rates, there are potential opportunities for market seekers. According to the World Economic Forum's report on the Future of Consumption (2019), India will add around 140 million middle-income households and 21 million high-income households by 2030. Furthermore, upper middle- and high-income households will drive 61% of the consumption in 2030, compared to 37% in 2018. Though the pandemic threw us momentarily off track, the trajectory is likely to remain the same with minor differences.

By 2030, the median age of the Indian population is projected to be 31, compared to 42 in China and 40 in the US, which will make India the country with the largest working-age population in the world. Needless to say, India is on the cusp of transformational change. To achieve such aspirations, we will have to focus on key areas that require investments and policy interventions. These areas include skills, education, healthcare services, gender parity, logistics, the manufacturing sector, and regulatory frameworks to enhance the ease of doing business.

On the occasion of India’s 74th Republic Day, we at Spice Money find it fitting to honour a few distinguished individuals who form the backbone of our mission to digitally and financially empower rural Indians. Today we celebrate our top performing Spice Money Adhikaris, our "Rashtra Ratan winners" who have emerged as the top performers in providing different services to the rural citizens across Bharat. They were given this honour based on their contributions, such as highest number of recharge transactions, DMT transactions, mATM transactions amongst others.

Here’s why it was important for us to do it on Republic Day, of all days. The Adhikari, or merchant, community is critical to realising our vision of an empowered and financially inclusive Bharat. They play a key role in empowering Bharat and bridging the gap between rural and urban India. Much like revolutionaries in the past, the Adhikari community enables us in developing the country by accessing remote parts of Bharat.

The nation has made an inspiring journey in becoming the 5th biggest economy of the world; however, to continue to strengthen our position and ensure a better future for coming generations, we need to set our plans into motion now. India at 2047 is no longer a dream we hope for, it is a mission that we all aim to achieve with true conviction and commitment.?