Better Governance and inclusive reforms: A key towards Rural Development in India (Challenges to Inclusive Growth in the Emerging

Abstract- We have developed two scenarios to see how rapidly India can raise people to the standards of living implied by the Empowerment Line. The first, which we call “stalled reforms”, assumes that no bold policy measures are taken and that slow economic growth continues. The second considers an alternative path of “inclusive reforms”. The path of inclusive reforms envisages a far more positive alternative, one in which the nation takes steps to stimulate investment, job creation, and farm productivity, as well as dramatically improve the delivery of basic services. These reforms could potentially allow India to achieve an average GDP growth rate of 7.8 percent between 2012 and 2022. This could lift 580 million people above the Empowerment Line, leaving 100 million (7 percent of the population) below it in 2022 and 17 million (just 1 percent) below the official poverty line—virtually eliminating extrem