New Delhi: India must ensure that economic progress reaches lagging states and lower-income households to become a developed nation by 2047, NITI Aayog CEO Anurag Jain said on Friday.
Speaking at the Global Fintech Fest 2026, Jain said the country had made reasonable progress on growth, but achieving broader prosperity would require better access to education, skills, employment, and entrepreneurship.
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Some states had performed strongly on health and education, while others needed greater attention, he said.
“But there are certain states which are lagging behind, so we need to concentrate on them also,” Jain said.
He argued that per capita income alone was insufficient to assess progress, stressing the need to examine the position of the bottom 10–20 percent of the population.
India had a sound foundation to achieve prosperity by 2047, provided economic inclusion gave people the education and skills needed for gainful employment or to build businesses, he added.
Jain said emerging technologies could raise human productivity and incomes, but cautioned against the benefits being concentrated in a few hands.
“I am confident that what new technology has come, and will come, will add to human productivity,” he said, adding that the resulting income gains should be distributed more widely.
The government would use regulation to encourage competition and prevent market distortions, monopolies, and oligopolies, he said.
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Speaking at the event, SBI Managing Director Rama Mohan Rao Amara said the bank accounted for 30 percent of accounts opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana.
Accounts that began with zero balances now hold an average of Rs 5,000, he said.
Amara added that SBI was focusing on helping these customers move beyond savings towards financial protection.
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