Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Until 1750, India had the richest economy in the world, but colonialism destroyed it as the country entered the 20th century. But, since 1991, the climb back up started, and India is on the cusp of becoming the world’s third-largest economy, yet its growth story remains uneven. India has the people, ideas, and the ambition—but systemic inefficiencies, outdated laws, and fragmented governance hold her back.
What India needs is not one grand reform, but a dozen practical, implementable changes – small steps that, collectively, can unleash transformational growth.
1. Legal Reform: Restoring Faith in Justice
India’s courts are clogged with more than 60 million pending cases. Justice delayed is justice denied, and investors often shy away from markets where contracts are unenforceable.
The purpose of law is to protect the powerless and the poor from the rich, the powerful, and the government. The only way the poor have access to justice is through lawyers who work on a contingency success fee basis. India has made contingency ‘lawering’ illegal, and so basically there is a sign hanging outside the country that says ‘there is no justice for the poor in India.’
Global Parallel: Singapore and the U.K. established specialized commercial courts that resolve business disputes in weeks, not years. India should follow suit with digitized filings, fast-track commercial benches, and arbitration-friendly policies. A reliable justice system is the single greatest confidence-builder for business. All advanced economies allow contingency fee-based lawyering.
2. Labor Reform: Flexible Yet Fair
India’s labor laws remain an overlapping maze of central and state regulations. Employers fear hiring formally, while workers remain trapped in insecurity.
Global Parallel: China’s labor reforms in the 1980s balanced flexibility for employers with basic protections for workers, fueling a manufacturing boom. Germany’s “flexicurity” model also shows that when workers are protected with unemployment insurance and retraining, companies are more willing to hire. India must simplify labor codes while ensuring dignity for its workers.
3. Land Reform: Unlocking the Foundation of Growth
Land remains India’s most contested resource. Outdated records, unclear titles, and bureaucratic hurdles delay infrastructure and housing projects.
Global Parallel: Thailand and Vietnam both introduced transparent land titling systems that attracted foreign investment and improved farmer incomes. India must digitize records nationwide and create enforceable titles. Secure property rights are the foundation of economic confidence.
4. Social Security: A Safety Net for All
In a country where millions still live paycheck to paycheck, the absence of a universal safety net discourages risk-taking and perpetuates poverty. A social security system makes employers register their businesses, and employees insist that they be paid legally and not in cash. Employees who choose to work and get paid in cash don’t get social security for the entirety of their old age.
Global Parallel: Brazil’s Bolsa Família and Mexico’s Prospera programs lifted millions out of poverty through modest cash transfers tied to education and healthcare. India’s direct benefit transfer (DBT) model is already admired globally; it should now expand into pensions, unemployment benefits, and basic health coverage.
5. Empowering States: Federalism That Works
India’s diversity demands localized solutions, not one-size-fits-all policies from Delhi. States should have more fiscal and legislative autonomy.
Global Parallel: In the United States, states compete to attract business by offering tax incentives, infrastructure, and a skilled workforce. Similarly, China allowed its provinces to experiment with market reforms, which then scaled nationally. India can unleash “competitive federalism” by giving states the freedom to innovate.
6. Empowering Cities: Engines of the 21st Century
India’s cities generate more than two-thirds of GDP but remain administratively weak. Most lack empowered mayors or independent budgets.
Global Parallel: New York, London, and Singapore demonstrate that strong city leadership drives global competitiveness. China’s cities, like Shenzhen, grew into global hubs because local leaders had authority over land, investment, and infrastructure. India must empower its cities with elected mayors and fiscal autonomy if it wants urban centers to be globally competitive.
7. Tax Simplification: Predictability and Fairness
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) was a step forward, but complexity and compliance burdens still plague businesses. Frequent policy changes also create uncertainty.
Global Parallel: Estonia’s flat, digital-first tax system is one of the simplest in the world, and has become a model for attracting startups and foreign investors. India can learn from Estonia’s use of technology and from countries like Ireland, which provide stable tax regimes that attract multinational corporations. Predictability is as important as rates.
8. Infrastructure Push: Laying the Groundwork
High logistics costs—nearly 14% of GDP compared to 8% in China—make Indian goods less competitive.
Global Parallel: South Korea and Japan both used infrastructure as the backbone of their growth stories, investing heavily in transport and power. Today, China’s Belt and Road Initiative shows the global reach of infrastructure-led growth. India must accelerate investment in highways, ports, rail, and digital connectivity to integrate its economy and reduce costs.
9. Education and Skills: From Degrees to Employability
India produces millions of graduates annually, but employability remains low. Many lack the skills required by modern industries.
Global Parallel: Germany’s dual vocational training system ties education directly to industry needs, ensuring graduates are immediately employable. Singapore continually updates curricula in response to emerging sectors. India should pivot toward vocational education, AI literacy, and healthcare skills to prepare its youth for the jobs of tomorrow.
10. Ease of Doing Business: Cutting the Red Tape
Starting and running a business in India remains cumbersome despite improvements in rankings. Closing a company is equally difficult.
Global Parallel: New Zealand has consistently ranked first in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business index because entrepreneurs can start a business online in less than a day. India should adopt similar “time-bound approvals” and sunset clauses for outdated regulations. Entrepreneurship thrives where bureaucracy is minimized.
11. The Employment Gap: Formalizing the Workforce
Of India’s 1.4 billion people, 900 million are of working age. Yet only 60 million—just 7 percent—are on official payrolls. The remaining 840 million are in the informal economy, outside the tax net, without benefits or protections.
Global Parallel: China aggressively formalized its workforce during its industrial rise, moving workers from farms into factories and onto payrolls. Brazil achieved similar success by incentivizing companies with tax breaks to formalize employment. India must incentivize employers to move workers onto the books and expand financial inclusion, turning its demographic dividend into a true asset.
12. Ending Wage Theft: Pay Workers Their Due
Even among those employed, wage theft is rampant. Many are paid less than promised, or not at all, for overtime.
Global Parallel: The U.S. and U.K. treat wage theft as a criminal offense, with strong enforcement mechanisms. South Korea uses digital wage-payment platforms to track compliance. India should implement digital payroll systems, stricter penalties, and effective grievance redress to ensure workers are paid fairly.
Small Steps, Big Change
India’s challenges are not insurmountable. By modernizing its legal system, simplifying labor and land policies, empowering states and cities, investing in infrastructure and education, simplifying taxes, formalizing employment, and ensuring fair wages, India can unlock its vast potential.
These reforms are not radical. They are pragmatic, proven steps drawn from the experiences of countries that have walked this path before. For India, the time to act is now. With political will and administrative efficiency, these twelve measures can transform not just the economy, but the lives of over a billion people.
India’s destiny is not written in stone—it is waiting to be claimed. If we modernize our laws, dignify our workers, empower our states and cities, and pay every Indian their fair share, then the quiet dreams of a billion people can rise into a roar that shakes the world. These reforms are not miracles; they are the simple, pragmatic steps every great nation has once taken. But in their simplicity lies their power.
There is still a chance, however small, that by the year 2125, India could once again stand as the richest nation on earth, as it was centuries ago. But only if we, as a people, can summon the courage to do the small things that matter most. The hardest things in life are often the simplest. If India cannot rise to do the simple things, then that chance will vanish. If India does, then nothing – no barrier, no rival, no history – can stop her.