India’s Youth to Help It Replace China as Economic Superpower: Report

India will emerge as an economic superpower, driven by the younger generation while China ages quickly, according to a report by Deloitte LP. In Asia, the number of people aged 65 years and above will increase from 365 million at present to more than half a billion in 2027, accounting for 60 per cent of that age group globally by 2030, the report, released last week, said.

India’s workforce will increase from 885 million to 1.08 billion people in the next 20 years and will stay above that for 50 years, it showed. “India will account for more than half of the increase in Asia’s workforce in the coming decade, but this isn’t just a story of more workers: these new workers will be much better trained and educated than the existing Indian workforce,’’ Anis Chakravarty, an economist at Deloitte India, told Bloomberg Quint. “There will be rising economic potential coming alongside that, thanks to an increased share of women in the workforce, as well as an increased ability and interest in working for longer. The consequences for businesses are huge.’’
Walking side by side with India are countries like Indonesia and the Philippines, who also have a comparatively younger population.

But only the right framework to sustain and promote growth can help the Indian economy grow or else the huge population is at risk of facing unemployment and consequent social unrest.

The countries that face the biggest challenges from the impact of ageing on growth are China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Thailand and New Zealand. For Australia, the impact will likely surpass that of Japan, which has already been facing the challenges of getting older.

“Rare among rich nations, Australia has a track record of welcoming migrants to our shores,” said Ian Thatcher, deputy managing partner at Deloitte Asia Pacific. “That leaves us less at risk of an ageing-related slowdown in the decades ahead.’’