Dr Akshay Kulkarni
India’s path to a developed, self-reliant economy by 2047 runs straight through its villages and its platform workers, in a way J. C. Kumarappa would instantly recognise. His Gandhian vision of decentralised, locally rooted production offers a powerful framework to align rural households, gig workers and welfare policy with the $5 trillion–plus growth trajectory now projected for 2029 and beyond.
J. C. Kumarappa argued for an “economy of permanence” built on renewable resources, small-scale industries and decentralised planning anchored in the village as a largely self-sufficient unit. He contended that when one fully accounts for public subsidies, environmental damage and social costs, large-scale, centralised industry often looks less efficient and less just than networks of local, labour‑intensive village industries.
For Kumarappa, remunerative work for all was the first principle of economic governance, and village industries were the main instrument to secure employment, autonomy and dignity for the majority. This philosophy implies that India’s growth strategy must consciously bias policy towards local production systems, circular use of resources and bottom‑up democracy if it wants prosperity to be durable rather than fragile.
If the village is the basic unit of planning, rural households become the decisive agents for self‑reliance and developed‑nation status. Kumarappa’s emphasis on local markets and small industries points to a model where households are simultaneously producers, consumers and stewards of land and ecology, not passive welfare recipients. Strengthening rural incomes through diversified farm and non‑farm activity, producer collectives and local processing can raise productivity while cutting vulnerability to distant price shocks.
Such a rural‑centred approach meshes with India’s macro ambitions: sustaining 6–7 percent growth over decades will require continuous productivity gains outside a few metropolitan clusters and formal sectors. If rural households are equipped with infrastructure, credit, digital access and basic services, they can anchor domestic demand, supply agro‑based exports and reduce pressure on urban labour markets, all of which enhance self‑reliance.
Reaching a $5 trillion GDP around 2029 is now seen as feasible, but structural headwinds could slow the climb to higher milestones.Persistent issues include labour‑market rigidities, land access problems and slow insolvency resolution, which together dampen investment, productivity and job creation. External risks—from trade tensions to climate shocks—further complicate long‑term planning for a large, open economy.
Public welfare must therefore shift from fragmented schemes to a coherent, Kumarappa‑compatible architecture of capability building. That means prioritising universal basic services (health, education, nutrition, sanitation), portable social security, and targeted support for productive assets rather than pure consumption transfers.Well‑designed rural employment guarantees, livelihood missions and decentralized planning bodies can be aligned to create durable local infrastructure and enterprises instead of short‑term, low‑quality works.
For a 2047 developed‑economy horizon, the next transformative reforms arguably belong more in agriculture and allied activities than in headline‑grabbing sectors. Kumarappa’s focus on the agrarian base underscores that without a resilient, remunerative farm economy, rural self‑reliance and ecological balance both erode. Modern challenges—from fragmented landholdings to climate volatility and market power imbalances—make this agenda even more urgent today.
Reforms should centre on three fronts: first, improving land and water productivity through investments in irrigation, climate‑resilient seeds and regenerative practices; second, deepening market reforms that genuinely strengthen farmer bargaining power via cooperatives, FPOs and transparent digital platforms; and third, driving value addition through rural agro‑processing, storage and logistics so that more value stays with producer households. If combined with strong rural education and health systems, such an agricultural turn would operationalise Kumarappa’s economy of permanence, making India’s march to self‑reliant developed‑nation status by 2047 both economically feasible and socially grounded.
Dr Akshay Kulkarni
About the Author
