Giving Compass' Take:

• Authors at RAND Corporation explore the economic and social solutions to India's current and ongoing economic challenges.

• How can India's donors help strengthen social cohesion practices in India? 

• Learn more about India's economic growth and private wealth. 

Economic liberalization in the early 1990s brought rapid growth to the Indian economy and a reduction in poverty. However, after reaching a rate of over 8 percent in 2016, growth has slumped, with the current growth hovering around 4.5 percent, with dangers of further slowdown due to the COVID-19 virus looming. The experience of East Asian countries has shown that sustained growth in the order of 6 percent or more over decades is necessary for a country to become economically developed and eradicate poverty. India's slump over the last few years is a distinct stumble in its push to get on to such a growth trajectory.

Despite the tremendous progress made over the last few decades, even optimistic reports estimate 50 million Indians living under $1.90 a day, the threshold used to measure extreme poverty. Over 45 million children are stunted due to chronic malnutrition, a third of the world's share. India tops the list (PDF) of the number of people without access to clean water close to home: Over 163 million, close to 20 percent of the world's share. And, even as India enters a prolonged period of bulge in its working-age population, there is increasing concern that it is squandering its “demographic dividend” by falling short on providing its population with skills and creating enough jobs.

Given the staggering economic challenges that need attention, how may the nation refocus its attention away from sectarian divides to economic development? While there is no easy answer, focusing on inclusive growth and development might offer one potential route. Broad-based development would likely decrease resentment among disadvantaged groups, increase their interest in protecting their stakes, and reduce the likelihood that they would be incited into committing acts of violence. Many studies (PDF) show the interconnection between poverty and internal conflicts.

Read the full article about economic development by Rafiq Dossani and Krishna Kumar at RAND Corporation.