In a few days, elections will take place in India which are expected to last more than a month. That’s how long it takes nearly 960 million eligible voters in a country of 1.4 billion to cast their ballot. According to polls, there is a strong chance that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Indian People’s Party will win elections to the lower house of Parliament, the People’s House, for the third time in a row. “Under his leadership, India has the opportunity to become a 21st century economic powerhouse, offering a real alternative to China for investors and consumer brands,” writes CNN.
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The authors of the CNN analysis point out that India maintains healthy relations with most major economies and is aggressively encouraging large companies to set up factories in the country. Like China more than three decades ago, India is embarking on a massive transformation of its infrastructure, spending billions to build roads, ports, airports and railways. Private investors are building the world’s largest green energy power plant. Between 2014 and 2023, the total length of highways increased by 60%. Digital public infrastructure is growing, which has improved the quality of life of residents and the operation of businesses.
The value of publicly traded companies in India surpassed $4 trillion at the end of last year. One of India’s top two stock exchanges has overtaken the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to become the world’s sixth-largest bourse, according to data from the World Federation of Exchanges released in January.
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The Modi government has also focused on foreign investors, particularly those who want to diversify their activities and go beyond China, weakened by the pandemic and growing tensions between Beijing and Washington. Some of the world’s largest companies are already expanding their operations in India (including Apple and Samsung). The world expects the Tesla boss to soon announce a major investment in this country. Elon Musk reportedly wrote cryptically on This would be Tesla’s first Asian factory outside of China.
Despite this, the Indian economy is still far from perfect. The challenge for the authorities after the elections will include, among other things: creating millions of jobs for the poor and poorly educated population. According to Guido Cozzi, a professor of macroeconomics at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland, as the economy grows, there will be a trickle-down effect on GDP per capita. He warned, however, that this would not guarantee a reduction in income inequality and that it “may be necessary to promote economic development that promotes equality of social opportunity”.
