Beyond GDP Growth: Is India Entering an Age of Capability Building?
India’s economy has just produced a number that would ordinarily invite a familiar round of celebration and forecasting. Real GDP grew by 7.8% in the first quarter of FY27, comfortably above expectations. Private consumption remained strong, while gross fixed capital formation grew by 11.9%. Manufacturing, construction, and services also recorded healthy expansion. But perhaps the more interesting question is not whether India can sustain 7.8% growth. It is what the economy is becoming capable of doing underneath that growth . GDP measures the output of an economy at a point in time. It tells us how much has been produced, consumed and invested. It tells us considerably less about the capabilities that are being accumulated in the process. Yet those capabilities may ultimately determine whether today's growth becomes tomorrow's structural transformation. That distinction is becoming increasingly important as India enters what could be an important investment phase. From consump...