India will be a $55 trillion economy by 2047 — if it grows at 8%. That’s not a dream. It’s an arithmetic prediction backed by 27 chapters of economic data.
Former Chief Economic Advisor Prof. K. V. Subramanian presents India 100: Envisioning Tomorrow’s Economic Powerhouse at a Delhi University book launch, making a case that is deliberately audacious but empirically grounded. His core insight: India’s large informal economy, which others see as a liability, is actually the country’s biggest growth opportunity — because formalization through JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) infrastructure is unlocking credit, productivity, and demand at a scale never seen before in economic history.
He directly challenges the inequality narrative borrowed uncritically from Western economists like Thomas Piketty: India’s data shows no negative correlation between inequality and socioeconomic outcomes — because at 7%+ growth, the capacity to lift people out of poverty dominates. His sharpest message to students is epistemological: don’t cut-paste arguments from Western contexts into Indian data. Think for yourself. Play the ball, not the bowler. India’s economic story must be read on its own terms.
About the Speakers:
- Krishnamurthy Subramanian is Executive Director at the IMF and Professor at ISB. As India’s Chief Economic Advisor (2018–2021), he introduced concepts like Thalinomics and led economic policy during COVID-19. An alumnus of IIT-Kanpur, IIM-Calcutta, and University of Chicago, his research spans banking, finance, and corporate governance.
- Prof. Shobhit Mathur, Co-Founder and Vice Chancellor of Rishihood University, blends tech, education, and social impact. A graduate of IIT Bombay, University of Washington, ISB, and OP Jindal Global University, he has led initiatives at Amazon, Youth For Seva, and Vision India Foundation.
