Viksit Bharat 2047: The missing piece in the puzzle

India’s growth story: What’s still missing?

India’s rise on the global stage is no longer a matter of speculation; it is an unfolding reality.

From economic progress to welfarism, digital transformation to infrastructure growth, defence strategies to global diplomacy, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has created a roadmap that aspires to place India among the league of developed nations by the time it turns 100 in 2047.

The vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 is bold, inspirational, and necessary. It represents not just an economic milestone, but a civilizational moment.

The government’s focus on technology, manufacturing, youth skilling, and global positioning has set the nation on the right course. The strategic imperatives, spanning infrastructure, education, healthcare, agriculture, defence, and digital governance, are being pursued with determination.

And yet, for all the pieces being assembled meticulously, one can’t help but feel that something important is missing… something so fundamental that, if left unaddressed, it may slow the momentum or even derail the dream itself.

The pieces we have assembled

India has corrected (or begun correcting) many structural deficiencies that held it back for decades, such as:

• Formalization of the economy
• Infrastructure and connectivity
• The twin balance sheet problems
• Investing in future technologies (such as AI, deep tech, and clean energy)

There is also a growing alignment among citizens, across classes, castes, and religions, around national priorities like self-reliance, strong borders, and effective governance.

These and many other accomplishments are hard-won gains, not to be taken lightly.

Politically, the BJP has emerged as the most electorally successful party in India’s post-independence history. Its cadre strength, last-mile delivery mechanisms, welfare schemes, and communication strategy have created an ecosystem of stability and aspiration.

But that’s exactly why the missing piece is so important.

The invisible risk we may be missing

In a nation as vast and complex as India, leadership at the very top plays a disproportionately large role in shaping the national mood, defining direction, and sustaining momentum.

PM Modi has set a benchmark for personal integrity, tireless effort, and conviction-led decision-making. The people trust him, forgive his perceived mistakes, and believe he works for India, not for himself.

But a target as expansive as Viksit Bharat 2047 cannot be accomplished by one person, no matter how extraordinary.

The journey to 2047 is a long one. Along the way, unexpected turns will arise: geopolitical upheavals, internal disturbances, economic disruptions, and generational shifts.

What ensures continuity and coherence in such times is a strong, future-ready bench of leadership, shaped not just by loyalty or administrative competence, but by holistic preparation, as sound and seasoned as Modi’s own.

The BJP has many capable leaders, but none have been exposed to the full spectrum of the top leadership position.

In earlier decades, political parties were plagued by dynasties.

Today, we risk the opposite: great individual leaders, but without a clearly developed pipeline for succession or adequate preparation for the challenge of the top role.

Connecting the final dot

This missing piece, leadership continuity, requires quiet, strategic attention.

It’s not about succession planning in the corporate sense. It’s about ensuring that when the time comes, its next set of leaders is already seasoned in navigating the complexity of the road ahead.

The solution need not be dramatic. It may lie in subtle, deliberate initiatives:

• Giving potential top leaders exposure to national security and diplomacy
• Encouraging ownership of cross-sectoral missions
• Mentoring and broadening the roles of senior ministers beyond silos

It could include appointing a few Deputy Prime Ministers, not as symbolic elevations, but as strategic steps to empower senior leaders with wider responsibilities under the PM’s watchful eye.

The introduction of 2 or 3 Deputy PMs (say Yogi Adityanath, Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh) with most other Cabinet Ministers attached to them, by some kind of rotation if possible, can serve as an institutionalized leadership development mechanism. This would:

• Give the PM a trusted team of senior leaders to delegate strategic tasks.
• Offer the nation clear visibility into potential successors.
• Allow healthy competition between them and greater accountability.
• Create a leadership bench that is ready by design, not by default.

This would not only strengthen governance but also allow room for these leaders to learn, even fail, but under Modi’s careful guidance and correction. And in doing so, it would give citizens the opportunity to observe who among them is capable of eventually leading the nation.

Incidentally, this opportunity can be used to rationalize the Ministries and combine ones that have similar functions and mandates. This can be another separate article for another day.

Building for the future

With growing global volatility and increasing domestic complexity, the PM of tomorrow will need to be far more comprehensively prepared than ever before, which will be difficult without adequate training and mentoring. They must be:

• Strategically grounded
• Politically shrewd
• Globally astute and well-connected at the highest levels
• Functionally experienced across major ministries
• Ethically above reproach

When Modi became the PM, the BJP’s bench strength was modest. Modi himself had to go through baptism by fire, despite his ideal fit and 13 years of outstanding experience as Gujarat’s CM.

Today, the BJP has a good second tier. Yet, they have little exposure to the full breadth of national and international challenges, especially in geopolitics and economic strategy, cutting across national issues.

Some of the BJP leaders are future PM material. But none have been holistically groomed to take on the mantle.

The risk? When transition becomes inevitable, the party may have excellent material, but none adequately trained for the challenging PM’s role.

Even in Uttar Pradesh, if Yogi Adityanath is to be elevated to a national role, the next CM of UP must also be identified and groomed. That alone would require at least a year.

Leadership is Modi’s lasting legacy

BJP is a party with deep roots and high ambition. But like all enduring institutions, its greatest challenge lies not in winning the next election, but in preparing the next generation of leaders who can lead India with the same moral authority, strategic clarity, and tireless energy as Modiji.

In fact, Modi’s legacy may be judged not just by how he performed as Prime Minister, but by how well his successors are able to carry the baton forward. If they falter, Viksit Bharat, Modiji’s own dream, could remain a distant one.

The final thought

All this is not to suggest that Modiji should make way for the next PM. In fact, implementing all the above suggestions will take a few years. I’m only suggesting that the transition, when it has to happen, should be smooth and seamless.

Since Viksit Bharat is the goal, institution-building must go hand in hand with nation-building. India cannot afford a period of leadership inadequacy when it faces its decisive decades ahead.

All the infrastructure, reforms, and global ambition of today may not be enough if we overlook this one piece. But if we get it right, quietly and steadily, India’s rise will not only be unstoppable, but also irreversible.

The puzzle is almost complete. The responsibility to groom future PMs is in Modiji’s hands; he should not leave the final piece to chance.

Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.

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