India is loud. It’s chaotic, vibrant, and currently sitting at a massive crossroads that most people outside the subcontinent don’t quite grasp yet. You’ve probably heard some variation of the phrase make india great again echoing through political rallies or splashed across social media feeds over the last few years. It’s a polarizing term. For some, it’s a nostalgic nod to a "Golden Age" of ancient Vedic science and global dominance. For others, it’s a modern blueprint for becoming a $5 trillion economy.
But what’s the actual reality?
If we’re being honest, India isn't trying to "return" to the 1950s or even the 1700s. The momentum right now is about reclaiming a seat at the head of the table that was lost during centuries of colonial extraction. We aren't just talking about pride here. We are talking about hard numbers, geopolitical leverage, and a massive demographic shift that is either going to be India’s greatest engine or its biggest hurdle.
The Economic Engine Behind the Slogan
To understand the push to make india great again, you have to look at the GDP rankings. Not just the current ones, but the trajectory. Organizations like Goldman Sachs and S&P Global have been shouting from the rooftops that India is on track to become the world’s third-largest economy by 2030, trailing only the US and China. That’s a big deal.
It’s not just hype.
Think about the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). While many developed nations are still fumbling with paper checks or fragmented banking systems, India built the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). It’s basically a miracle of fintech. In 2023 alone, India accounted for nearly 46% of the world's real-time digital payments. That’s more than the next four leading countries combined. When people talk about making the country "great," this is the tangible stuff they mean—taking a population that was largely unbanked a decade ago and leapfrogging them into the digital future.
Geopolitics and the "Vishwaguru" Ambition
There’s this word that gets tossed around a lot in New Delhi: Vishwaguru. It translates to "Teacher to the World." It’s the philosophical backbone of the movement to make india great again.
The idea is that India offers a "third way" in a world increasingly split between Western liberalism and Chinese authoritarianism. You saw this play out during the G20 presidency in 2023. India positioned itself as the voice of the Global South, bridging the gap between the G7 and developing nations. It was a masterclass in strategic autonomy. India buys oil from Russia, runs joint military drills with the US, and signs massive trade deals with the UAE—all at the same time.
It’s bold.
But it’s also risky. Balancing these relationships requires a level of diplomatic tightrope walking that would make most career politicians sweat. The "greatness" being sought here isn't just about military might; it’s about moral and diplomatic authority.
Manufacturing: The "Make in India" Pivot
You can’t have a "Great India" without jobs. Specifically, manufacturing jobs. For decades, India skipped the industrial revolution phase and went straight into services—call centers, software engineering, and IT consulting. That made a few people very rich, but it didn't help the hundreds of millions of people living in rural villages.
The current push is to fix that. The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes are the government’s big bet. They are literally paying companies to build stuff in India.
Look at Apple.
A few years ago, the idea of a high-end iPhone being manufactured in Tamil Nadu was a pipe dream. Now? Apple is producing roughly 14% of its global iPhone output in India. That’s about $14 billion worth of devices. Companies like Foxconn and Micron are pouring billions into semiconductor plants and assembly lines. This is the "Greatness" of the assembly line—creating a middle class that can actually afford to buy the things they make.
The Cultural Renaissance and Its Friction
It’s not all spreadsheets and factory floors, though. A huge part of the make india great again sentiment is deeply cultural. There is a palpable sense of "decolonizing the mind." You see it in the renaming of cities—Allahabad to Prayagraj, or the renaming of the Rajpath to Kartavya Path.
This is where things get complicated.
For many, this is a necessary reclaiming of identity after 200 years of British rule. For others, particularly minority communities and secular critics, it feels like an exclusionary shift toward majoritarianism. High-profile intellectuals like Pratap Bhanu Mehta have often written about the tension between India’s democratic roots and this new, assertive nationalism.
Is it possible to be "great" while being deeply divided?
That’s the billion-dollar question. History shows that internal cohesion is usually a prerequisite for sustained global power. The challenge for India is to define "greatness" in a way that includes its 200 million Muslims, its diverse linguistic groups in the South, and its tribal populations in the Northeast.
Infrastructure: The Physical Transformation
If you haven't visited India in the last five years, you wouldn't recognize the highways. Honestly, the pace of construction is staggering. India is building about 28 to 30 kilometers of national highways per day.
- Vande Bharat Express: These are indigenous high-speed trains that look like something out of Japan or France. They are symbols of a "New India" that doesn't just import tech but builds it.
- Airports: The number of operational airports has roughly doubled in the last decade, moving from around 74 to nearly 150.
- Renewable Energy: India is currently the only G20 nation on track to meet its Paris Agreement goals. The solar parks in Rajasthan are some of the largest on the planet.
This physical transformation is the "skeleton" of the make india great again vision. Without the roads, the power, and the ports, the economic dreams are just talk.
The Obstacles Nobody Wants to Talk About
Look, it’s easy to get swept up in the soaring rhetoric of "Rising India." But we have to be real about the bottlenecks. Education is a massive one. While India produces millions of graduates, a significant percentage of them are "unemployable" by global standards because the curriculum is stuck in the 1990s.
Then there’s the bureaucracy.
Even with the "Ease of Doing Business" reforms, dealing with local land acquisitions and labor laws can be a nightmare for investors. And we can't ignore the environment. The air quality in Delhi during November isn't just a health crisis; it’s an economic drain. If India wants to be "great," it has to figure out how to grow without suffocating its citizens.
What This Means for the Rest of the World
Why should you care if India becomes a global superpower?
Because the world's supply chains are shifting. The "China Plus One" strategy is real. As Western companies look to diversify away from Beijing, India is the only country with the scale to pick up the slack. If you’re an investor, India is the last great growth frontier. If you’re a consumer, your next car, phone, or medicine is increasingly likely to be "Made in India."
Practical Steps for Engaging with the New India
If you want to understand or participate in this shift, you can't just read the headlines. You have to look at the ground reality.
- Watch the DPI Sector: Keep an eye on the "India Stack." The way India is digitizing health records and credit is going to be the blueprint for the rest of the developing world.
- Focus on Tier-2 Cities: The real "greatness" isn't happening in Mumbai or Delhi anymore. It’s in places like Pune, Hyderabad, Indore, and Ahmedabad. These are the hubs of the new middle class.
- Understand the Nuance: Don't fall for the binary "India is failing" or "India has arrived" narratives. It’s doing both at the same time. It’s a country of 1.4 billion people; every generalization you make about it is probably true, and its opposite is also true.
- Monitor Energy Policy: India’s transition to green hydrogen and solar is going to dictate global energy prices over the next two decades.
The movement to make india great again is ultimately a journey of self-assertion. It's about a civilization that feels it was sidelined by history and is now sprinting to catch up. Whether it succeeds depends less on the slogans and more on whether it can turn its massive population into a skilled workforce while keeping its democratic fabric intact.
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It's going to be a bumpy ride. But it’s definitely the most interesting story of the 21st century.