“The outlook for the Indian economy is now looking
significantly better than it did in mid-2013.”
—Sunil Kumar Sinha, PhD, India Ratings & Research, New Delhi, India
expected to have 13 urban centers with more than 10
million residents. India can’t just improve its existing
cities; it must also build new ones. ;e late academic
C.K. Prahalad called for the construction of 500 new
cities to house 700 million more people by 2050.
As part of that urban buildup, the government
launched a program in 2012 to create two smart
cities in each of India’s 28 states, with 24 slated
for completion by 2040. Using technology and
networked information, the goal is to cut costs and
coordinate basic infrastructure.
For the ;rst phase, seven smart cities—each
home to up to 2 million people—will be built along
an industrial corridor that spans six states. With a
budget of US$100 billion, it will be the largest infrastructure program in India’s history. ;e sponsor,
the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development
Corp., which comprises government and private
entities, aims to complete the ;rst phase by 2019.
To meet that deadline, program leaders must work
closely with individual states to secure land and permits and meet regulation standards. ;ey must also
communicate the program’s strategic objective—
creating a dense network of cities knitted together
by public transportation—to Indian urban planners
accustomed to decentralized sprawl.
It’s but one change that India must make to
regain its footing in the global marketplace. Here’s
a look inside ;ve sectors that could play a pivotal
role in the fate of India—as well as for any organization looking for fresh project opportunities.
growth upward, citing the new leader’s plans for
major infrastructure projects.
But beyond changes in political leadership,
a profound demographic shift could also help
improve India’s economic outlook. By 2025, the
country’s middle class is expected to almost double
to 583 million—which would make India the
world’s ;fth-largest consumer market. By 2030,
India is expected to account for 23 percent of the
projected US$55.7 trillion in global middle-class
consumer spending.
“A growing middle class means the need for
high-quality project execution is expanding across
the entire breadth and width of the country,” Dr.
Green says.
;is burgeoning population will lead to a rapid
project proliferation in sectors such as telecom,
healthcare, transportation, IT, sustainable energy
and urban development. “All of these sectors have
huge growth potential,” Dr. Sinha says.
;e expanding middle class will bring with it not
only a greater demand for projects but also a greater
supply of talent to execute them, Dr. Green says. “A
more educated, sophisticated middle class ;lls the
gap between C-level decision makers and laborers,”
he says. “Filling those roles with competent sta; can
dramatically improve project outcomes.”
URBAN JUGGERNAUTS
As India sees a spike in population, its cities will have
to increase their capacity. By 2025, the country is
“A growing middle class means
the need for high-quality
project execution is expanding
across the entire breadth and
width of the country.”
—Russell Green, PhD
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The City Centre Mall in Mangalore attracts
India’s growing middle class, expected to
number 538 million people by 2025.
