India’s rise as developed economy will benefit the world, says Sitharaman

New Delhi: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday framed India’s economic rise as a departure from “extractive” and “colonial” models of development, positioning the government’s ‘Viksit Bharat’ vision as rooted in shared growth and domestic strengths.

Speaking at an event in Karnataka, Sitharaman said India’s emergence as a developed economy would have implications beyond its borders. “A developed, stable, democratic, pluralistic India… is not just good for India. It is good for the entire planet,” she said, describing the country as a bridge between the Global North and South.

She underscored India’s demographic advantage, noting that nearly 900 million people are under the age of 35, calling it an unprecedented concentration of young human potential. “These young people are impatient and ambitious, and have their dreams. When India is strong, peace is more likely. When India is prosperous, global supply chains are more resilient,” the minister said.

Sitharaman said achieving developed nation status would require a broad national effort spanning Union and state governments, industry, academia and citizens.

At the core of the ‘Viksit Bharat’ vision, she said, is expanding access to basic services—clean water, quality education, affordable healthcare and economic opportunity—rather than merely chasing headline GDP growth.

The minister said in her address at the NITTE, a higher education institute, that the government’s idea of ‘Viksit Bharat’ was not a political slogan conceived in a meeting room in the capital. It is a journey, not about imitation, but about rediscovering the country’s strengths, confidence and place in the world, Sitharaman said.

“Today, India is the world’s fastest growing major economy. The nation has 1.4 billion people, a median age of 28 years. The world’s largest educated work force is here and an ancient entrepreneurial spirit that no colonial interlude could extinguish,” Sitharaman said.

The minister also said that in 1700 CE, India’s share of global GDP was approximately 24%. After the era of colonialism and after India became independent in 1947, the country’s share of world GDP had fallen to less than 4%. “Two hundred years of colonial rule had not merely impoverished us. The destruction was as much of the spirit as of the economy,” the minister said, adding that the colonial mindset has to be shed.