In recent times, India has grown fast not only compared to its own past but also in comparison with other nations. But there cannot be any room for complacency because it is possible that the economy may not grow as fast in future and also widely that the benefits of this growth have not reached many people. The focus must be on ensuring that the kinds of macro-structural changes that need to be implemented are actually implemented, which will result in the Government’s vision economic policies being converted into a strategy for inclusive growth. The trick lies in identifying the constraints that hold back the economy, and in relieving these constraints with carefully designed policies so that the economy can grow faster in a sustained manner. But for growth to be inclusive, it must also ensure access to basic facilities such as health, education, clean drinking water, etc., and also promote an environment which provides productive opportunities, particularly for the young, to earn their livelihoods. It is only when this happens that people willingly participate in the growth process. While it is important to remove the obstacles to growth to improve efficiency, it is equally important to ensure that there is sufficient emphasis on the policies for promoting growth. A policy for promoting growth need to be complemented with policies to ensure that more and more people join in the growth process and, further, that there are mechanisms in place to redistribute some of the gains to those who are unable to partake in the market process and, hence, get left behind. A simple way of giving this idea of inclusive growth a sharper focus is to redefine it as a strategy to improve the rate of growth and also the extent to which people participate in the growth process. One can argue that one of the problems with the Indian growth process of the past few years is that it has failed to ensure that the bulk of the population shares the benefits of the growth process. It is important to recognize that growth and participation in the growth process across social and economic groups must be seen as two sides of the same coin. If we ignore this, we do so at our own peril because it can lead to social unrest, which may in turn affect growth itself. There is a need to reverse this process. Hence a strategy for inclusive growth must aim at achieving a high growth rate with a wider dispersal of the benefits of such growth. Hence it is important to recognize that we need to act now to make growth inclusive in a systematic manner. In fact, India must continue to do this not just to maintain social harmony but also to sustain the growth itself in the years to come. We must aim at achieving a growth process in which the poor and the rich alike participate and benefit. Only such a growth process would be sustainable. Consider the following statements:

In recent times, India has grown fast not only compared to its own past but also in comparison with other nations. But there cannot be any room for complacency because it is possible that the economy may not grow as fast in future and also widely that the benefits of this growth have not reached many people. The focus must be on ensuring that the kinds of macro-structural changes that need to be implemented are actually implemented, which will result in the Government’s vision economic policies being converted into a strategy for inclusive growth. The trick lies in identifying the constraints that hold back the economy, and in relieving these constraints with carefully designed policies so that the economy can grow faster in a sustained manner. But for growth to be inclusive, it must also ensure access to basic facilities such as health, education, clean drinking water, etc., and also promote an environment which provides productive opportunities, particularly for the young, to earn their livelihoods. It is only when this happens that people willingly participate in the growth process. While it is important to remove the obstacles to growth to improve efficiency, it is equally important to ensure that there is sufficient emphasis on the policies for promoting growth. A policy for promoting growth need to be complemented with policies to ensure that more and more people join in the growth process and, further, that there are mechanisms in place to redistribute some of the gains to those who are unable to partake in the market process and, hence, get left behind. A simple way of giving this idea of inclusive growth a sharper focus is to redefine it as a strategy to improve the rate of growth and also the extent to which people participate in the growth process. One can argue that one of the problems with the Indian growth process of the past few years is that it has failed to ensure that the bulk of the population shares the benefits of the growth process. It is important to recognize that growth and participation in the growth process across social and economic groups must be seen as two sides of the same coin. If we ignore this, we do so at our own peril because it can lead to social unrest, which may in turn affect growth itself. There is a need to reverse this process. Hence a strategy for inclusive growth must aim at achieving a high growth rate with a wider dispersal of the benefits of such growth. Hence it is important to recognize that we need to act now to make growth inclusive in a systematic manner. In fact, India must continue to do this not just to maintain social harmony but also to sustain the growth itself in the years to come. We must aim at achieving a growth process in which the poor and the rich alike participate and benefit. Only such a growth process would be sustainable. Consider the following statements: