New Delhi, Sept. 3 -- It is perfectly appropriate to dream, and to dream big. Viksit Bharat by 2047 is now a stated goal towards which all economic policy is directed. What was previously the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee, and before that simply NREGA ('A' for the Act of 2005), has been re-enacted as the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act of 2025.

What does the term 'viksit' actually mean to people? By now, it would be hard to find any member of the Indian establishment-across government, the judiciary, corporate sector, armed forces and the media-who does not have at least one close family member resident in a developed (viksit) country.

A 2025 book by Sanjaya Baru, Secession of th...