Mr. Kabeer Goswami addressing entrepreneurs at a summit by BHISM
April 29: India is widely referred to as a developing youth nation with one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. Often compared to the promising economies of Turkey, Mexico, and Brazil, it has been predicted by World Bank CEO, Kristalina Georgieva in 2017 that India will become a higher middle-class income country by 2047, as soon as India completes 100 years of independence. Productivity consultant Mr. Kabeer Goswami who is highly known for his strategic advisory to various sectors like blockchain, education, finance, real estate, pharmaceuticals, politics, etc explains, will the youth nation ever break into the ranks of the rich nations or is it just a myth?
Mr. Kabeer Goswami agrees with Kristalina Georgieva’s statement as it is an achievable target but said that blindly believing the statement without a plan will lead to defying our expectations. Mr. Kabeer Goswami further added that to achieve the said target, our government must undertake vital steps to boost our per capita income and GDP.
Sharing his thoughts on the same, Mr. Kabeer Goswami added, “Although India is a nation of creative minds and hard-working attitude, we are still unable to use every individual to their full potential. India is blessed geographically in terms of soil and can produce anything and everything yet we are unable to do so. Despite constant labor in the agricultural segment, Indian farmers are unable to live a promising life and are in debt.”
To achieve the goal of becoming a higher middle-class income country by 2047, Mr. Kabeer Goswami insists on three major pointers to be considered for a positive outcome:
Firstly, to ensure the growth trajectory India must learn to cooperate with technological advancements and scientific innovations. Despite a great talent pool and prominent resources, India has resisted several technological advances and embraced scientific changes. Highlighting the impact and benefits of technological advances in various economies, Mr. Kabeer Goswami added, “This decade has leveled up the economic growth with the help of blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies, and decentralized finance. The total realized gains in 2021 in the USA were $46.9B, the UK $8.1B, Germany $5.5B, China $5B, and so on. Understanding the substantial growth that technology can provide, India must step up and embrace the same with open arms.”
The second piece of advice by Mr. Kabeer Goswami is that India must solidify its foundation by supporting entrepreneurship & MSMEs. In the past couple of years, entrepreneurship and skill development have become a growth catalyst for several countries. However, India has been unable to take the same into account for its fundamental growth. While most of the global technology is being outsourced to India because of India’s talent pool, internally we fail to unlock and unleash our resources’ capabilities. We must learn to appreciate and accommodate our national talent. Shedding light on the prevailing issue, Mr. Kabeer Goswami said, “If the visa policies just get liberal for a few countries, majority of Indians will move across borders leading to brain -drain. Therefore, it is time to re-define, re-engage and re-energize our national spirit.”
Lastly, Mr. Kabeer Goswami said, “Instead of just showing government sectors making a loss every financial year, the government should plan accordingly to get the profit from their very own sectors. Absolute privatization will only lead us to become controlled, occupied, and nothing else. We must empower our public sector units and make them profitable.”
Mr. Kabeer Goswami believes that to understand the fundamentals of growth, one must be aware of the historical series of growth. India boasts of a robust history that roars and throbs in the heart of every Indian. Looking back at mid 18th century, India used to contribute 25% globally in manufacturing and output. Back then we were a global leader as we were providing solutions to the world in major segments like food, lifestyle, architectural solutions, science, medicines, physics, meditation, spirituality, and a lot more. This implies that we were smart and cooperative with technological advancements & scientific Innovations.
Towards the end of the session, Mr.Kabeer Goswami adds, “The biggest lacuna in the overall approach I observe as a consultant that India is still living in the era where we are not supposed to accept advancements, were adopting new methods & policies are scary and decades-old practices are the shackles, by saying this I only say India as a youth nation, has the potential to lead the world but non-cooperation to the advancements can make the scenario even worse.”
Mr. Kabeer Goswami requests not to let the World Bank down by providing them wrong and missing out on the target and opportunities or else we might look like a sinking ship in front of the whole world and might get into a “middle-income trap”, a term used by experts which will choke us from further growth.