IMF projection on India’s growth is impressive. But what about prosperity?

The International Monetary Fund raised India's GDP growth rate projection to 7 per cent for 2026-27, up from 6.4 per cent in July, citing "stronger than expected momentum" for the country. The Reserve Bank of India has also increased its growth outlook to 7.1 per cent this year, while also raising short-term interest rates due to rising inflation.

Recent quarterly data shows India's economy grew at 7.8 per cent in the April-to-June quarter. Despite these impressive figures, questions remain about the actual prosperity and well-being of the Indian population. Informality across sectors continues to widen, with more workers, particularly those migrating from rural to urban areas, finding less "good" job opportunities or remaining out of the organized sector due to poor wages, high living costs, and difficult working conditions.

This highlights the need for a shift from GDP numbers and economic projections to a prosperity-driven process of growth, with better, more decentralised policy coordination at the state level and deeper state-market interaction to avoid monopolistic control across sectors.