Leveraging Economic Growth: A SWOT Analysis

India accounted for 30 percent or more of World GDP a little over a thousand years ago, a level no other country has attained anytime in history. Then came China’s rise, and the pillages and plunders of invaders who literally raided India. The European colonizers came soon thereafter, continuing the loot of India more systematically. Today China has made up for lost growth and has emerged as the second largest economy in the world. India, under a democratic political framework with some devious and corrupt political actors, is struggling to make progress. The last five years has witnessed much nationalistic fervor and generated new hopes of capturing the ancient and historic economic aura and governance, and making more swift progress plausible despite COVID-19. This SWOT analysis, lists and discusses factors that encourage entertaining hopes of rapid growth. It also highlights constraints shackling even modest progress. Inspiring leadership can help realize the inner economic tiger that could enable a 10-12% annual growth for at least next ten years.