Nation building is a marathon. For a country as large and diverse as India, it is a relay of marathons. We have come a long way in 75 years. We have a long way to go. While many metrics are required to understand India, if you want to hold no more than 5 in your head, then track these indicators of India's progress.

1. INDIA@75
How far have we come?
Where do we go?

2. Our Population has grown …
2 0 2 2
1 9 5 0
359 MN, 14% of world population
1380 MN, 18% of world population
5.9
to less than 2.1 children per woman
1 9 5 0
2 0 2 2
… fertility has fallen, as it does
with increasing prosperity

3. Our Income levels have grown, but we have a long way to go
India: 1960 2021 United States of America: 2021
GDP/Capita US$ 302 US$ 1,961 US$ 61,280
And so too, with Life Expectancy at birth
8 5
7 0
4 1
India: 1960
2020
Japan: 2020

4. Modern Energy and Transport use are
key indicators of prosperity
India: 1971 2014 United States of America: 2015
267 637 6,804 (Kg of oil equivalent / Capita)
Air travel (Mn Kms)
9 2 6 . 7
Not to scale
India: 1960
2019
USA: 2019
1 6 7 . 5
2 . 7

5. More children
are going to college
… many more will do so
% Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER)
in Higher Education
2020
27.1%
1970
0.7%

6. We are doing much better in
sports, but yeh dil maange
more … much more.
1
8
14
16
23
31
132
92
65
Gold Silver Bronze
China
2018
India
2018
1990
1954
Asian Games Medals

7. A long road travelled.
A long way to go.
INDIA@75

8. Why we chose to focus on these indicators …
Why so few indicators:
Tracking a country as large and diverse as
India is tough. We have chosen the
minimum number of indicators necessary to
get a reasonable view of India’s progress.
Population and Fertility:
How many of us are there? How have we
grown? How is the population growing?
These questions define what we were, what
we are and what we will be.
Income and Life Expectancy:
India wants to be a modern developed
economy and GDP / capita is a good
indicator for that. Does this indicator work
for everyone? Life expectancy at birth
answers that question better than any other
indicator.
Energy usage and Air travel:
Development is energy…and mobility.
People in more developed economies use
more energy and travel more.
Gross Enrolment Ratio :
Highly productive economic sectors require
college education (although all college
graduates may not work in highly
productive sectors). A higher enrollment
ratio is an indicator of a more productive
population.
Sports performance:
Performance in international competition
depends on general health of population and
on economic prosperity.
Data capture methods have changed considerably over 75
years, making accurate comparisons difficult. However, the
scale and direction of change is informative.