India's Growth and Security Drive Transformation, Envoy Says

Speaking at The New India Conference in Washington, Kwatra said: "The primary impulse remains economic growth and prosperity... and the other challenges that we face to our national security, including cross-border terrorism."

He underscored that India's economic expansion -- marked by "7 per cent-plus GDP growth" -- is accompanied by multiple parallel transformations shaping the country's trajectory.

Kwatra identified governance reform as the first major shift, calling it a "total government transformation" that ensures the benefits of growth reach the wider population. "Transparency... inclusion of unbanked populations, giving them access to finance... financial inclusion," he said, are central pillars of this change.

He added that governance is also addressing multiple layers of security, including "energy security, economic security, food security," with a converged approach that delivers outcomes directly to citizens.

The second transformation, he said, lies in infrastructure -- both physical and digital.

"The digital infrastructure space is... both an enabler of the transference of the fruits of development, but is also the driver at the same time," Kwatra said, highlighting its dual role in growth.

A third major shift is in technology, innovation, and manufacturing. Kwatra described a "virtuous loop" where innovation feeds manufacturing and vice versa, spanning the "leading edge... middle layer... [and] application layer" of technology.

He pointed to advances in semiconductors, data centres, and nuclear energy, noting that policy choices today are aimed at meeting future demand. "Realising what we might need 10 years from now, we are setting the basis for it," he said.

Kwatra also flagged a rapidly shifting global landscape, citing "predictabilities at a huge premium", disruptions in supply chains, and a "return of controls" where countries restrict access to technology, products, and services.

"Cost alone is no longer a parameter... I need them to be available reliably," he said, stressing the growing importance of resilience and reliability in global economic planning.

Against this backdrop, he described the India-US relationship as "most consequential", with "broadly fundamental" convergences and "mutual" benefits across sectors.

Kwatra highlighted expanding cooperation in defence, technology, and trade, noting bilateral trade stands at "about $200 billion a year", with a target of reaching $500 billion by the end of the decade.

He said emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum technologies, and critical minerals will define the partnership in the years ahead, alongside strong "people-to-people exchanges" that form the "true bedrock" of ties.

Looking ahead, Kwatra reiterated India's long-term ambition to become a developed nation by 2047, describing it as "an empirical objective... with absolute measurable metrics year after year."

"New India is a story of great excitement, great opportunity," he said, adding that those who fail to engage risk "missing out on a ton of opportunities".

- IANS