India's Economic Renaissance: Tech and Demographics as Catalysts

Ashish Chauhan, CEO of NSE, highlights India's potential to shape global wealth through technology and demographics. Emphasizing historical innovations and current trends, he envisions a prosperous future leveraging young demographics and trust in capital markets, projecting significant growth in India's economy and per capita income.

In a visionary address at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) summit in Mumbai, Ashish Chauhan, MD and CEO of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), articulated India's promising trajectory in the global economic landscape over the next five decades. He pointed to technology, demographics, and trust-based capital markets as pivotal elements that will forge India's future economic prowess.

Chauhan delved into India's historical economic decline, attributing it to missing pivotal technological advancements, despite the nation once contributing nearly half of the global GDP a millennium ago. He highlighted that colonial exploitation stemmed largely from this technological lag. Chauhan accentuated India's pioneering spirit in foundational innovations but noted a shift to internal hierarchies, leading to stagnation. Now, he advocates for a broad embrace of technology—a field redefining itself beyond digital confines to any novel value-creating process or idea.

Emphasizing demographics, Chauhan underscored India's young population as a competitive edge over ageing regions like Japan, China, and Europe. This demographic can catalyze economic vibrancy, he argued, noting the rise of small retail investors as a testament to burgeoning trust in capital markets. Chauhan foresees India challenging economic norms with its 'capitalism without capital' philosophy, driven by innovative, technology-led enterprises. He concluded with a bullish projection: India, with its favorable demographic and market conditions, could ascend to a $15,000-20,000 per capita income, solidifying its place as the largest global economy.

(With inputs from agencies.)