Looking back it has been an incredible journey for the largest democracy in the world; not many would have bet on the country, leave alone the fact that it wouldn’t Balkanise under the weight of its diversity, which at moments have challenged its sovereignty. While the past does indeed make us proud, it is the future that should occupy us.

Its break from colonial embrace in 1947 took place in very difficult circumstances. Not only was the world economy reeling in the aftermath of the destructive fallout of World War II, but the departing British were bequeathing an economy which had been put through the colonial wringer for 200 years—barring the railway network and the educational institutions, there was precious little independent India could look forward to. In addition, the country was overwhelmed by communal carnage, which left hundreds of thousands dead on either side of the border; worse, it etched the contours of a permanent foreign policy challenge: Pakistan (which, too, celebrated its 70th Independence Day on Sunday, 14 August).

While the first three decades were spent creating an economic autarky, the next four—accelerating from 1991—were devoted to integrating India into the global economy and gradually shedding its defensive foreign policy postures (an example of which is the dramatic rethink towards the US undertaken by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in his tenure beginning 1999).

Remarkable while the journey has been so far, it is what India rustles up in the next 70 years that we need to ponder. Broadly, if India can get the 5Ds (keeping with the predilections of the Modi administration) right, it would have secured the legacy of the country and realised the promise and potential our founding fathers saw for independent India.

Democracy: Barring the brief tryst with the period of Emergency imposed by the Congress led by Indira Gandhi, Indian democracy has functioned satisfactorily. Its various institutions, despite being stretched and in some case eroded, somehow ensured the country’s democratic credentials were preserved.

In future Indian democracy has to evolve into one which embraces and respects the rule of law; the notion of an exceptions-based regime has to be abandoned immediately. The transition to a Goods and Services Tax and the use of Aadhaar (India’s unique identity project) to distribute services are definitive steps in this direction. More importantly its institutions, including the judiciary, media, government and Parliament, too have to evolve. At the moment they are struggling to cope with the growing and variegated demands of a rapidly transforming country.

Demography: Currently, India is in a sweet spot with 65% of its population younger than 35 years of age and hence in their prime— a perfect complement to its economy. But in a few decades there will be a shift and the country’s demographic bulge will be towards older people—the young of today’s India will grow old together.

Public policy will have to prepare the country to deal with this shift, especially since we notice the growing prevalence of lifestyle-related diseases. At present leave alone planning, I doubt if there is even a modicum of discussion on this emerging challenge.

Disruption: Technology is changing so fast that it is forcing massive disruptions in its wake. The way we talk, the way we work, the way we commute, the way we bank, the way we spend, will very soon resemble nothing of what we have witnessed so far (for instance, between the share economy and self-driven cars, the idea of owning a vehicle may very soon cease to exist).

Exactly why India’s institutions (like the banking sector) need to adapt and exhibit a nimbleness which it has never known. Business-as-usual will be an unmitigated disaster. The good news, however, is that it is altering status quo, forcing a dynamism in which the first movers gain the most; besides rapidly blurring the lines between the formal and the informal economy.

There will be winners and losers no doubt, but it will be how India manages this tension which will determine its ability to benefit from disruption.

Disintermediation: Traditionally India has been driven (and shackled) by its gatekeepers (in the case of government it was in the form of industrial licensing or unilateral curbs). The era of arbitrage on information is over. What we are seeing today is acceleration in the process of disintermediation, most evident in the emergence of ATMs or Internet banking and the death of queues at banks. Similarly, the spread of e-commerce is hurting the old economy of merchant establishments; newspapers are being bypassed in the business of information in a digital era.

At the moment, the gatekeepers are not willing to submit to the rigours of the new regime, despite the fact that its potential gains far outweigh the losses.

Distribution: If there is one challenge which has not been dwelled on in earnest it is the problem of growing inequality of wealth and opportunity. It is evident that this is one thing that can’t be left to the market forces; at the same time it can’t be on the basis of an erstwhile Soviet Union command-control regime either. The massive effort in skilling undertaken in recent years is one example of correcting for this distortion. But this is a mere drop in the ocean as it were.

In the final analysis it is then clear that India is on a cusp—the future looks bright, but subject to the country managing the 5Ds. I would like to believe: Yes we can.

Anil Padmanabhan is executive editor of Mint and writes every week on the intersection of politics and economics.

His Twitter handle is @capitalcalculus

Comments are welcome at capitalcalculus@livemint.com

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