Shaktikanta Das Outlines Five Developmental Imperatives for India's Viksit Bharat 2047 Vision

Shaktikanta Das, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister and former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, stated that five developmental imperatives will underpin India’s journey toward Viksit Bharat (Developed India) by 2047. The key areas highlighted include increasing credit intensity, deepening the public issue market for corporate bonds, developing a stronger municipal bond market, expanding the reach and depth of the insurance sector, and making India a pensionable society.

Underscoring the first imperative, Das noted that India’s credit intensity—measured by the private credit to GDP ratio—must grow sustainably. To achieve this, credit footprints need expansion in tier 2 and tier 3 cities as well as rural areas. This requires financial institutions to maintain a higher risk appetite to fund small businesses and agri-business, while simultaneously focusing on large projects covering next-generation infrastructure corridors, energy transitions, advanced manufacturing hubs, and rapid urbanization.

Discussing the roles of financial institutions, Das suggested that larger institutions are better positioned to underwrite complex projects and absorb shocks, while smaller financial institutions can focus on tier 2 and tier 3 cities for small business loans. He emphasized that the consolidation of public sector banks over the past decade has laid an important foundation, with the next frontier being the creation of institutions with scale, resilience, and international presence.

For the second imperative, Das highlighted the need to deepen the public issue market for corporate bonds. Currently, the corporate bond market accounts for roughly 15 to 16 percent of GDP, with outstanding issuances of around ₹53.6 lakh crore in financial year 2025. Das pointed out that corporate bond issuance remains dominated by private placements and high-rated borrowers, and expanding the public issue route would encourage greater retail and institutional engagement, improve price discovery, and diversify the investor base.

The third focus area involves developing a stronger municipal bond market to finance massive investments in urban infrastructure and public services as the economy urbanizes. Das noted that municipal bodies must improve their governance, accounting systems, and leveraging capacities, while the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) sector can play a catalytic role in helping urban local bodies access capital markets.

Addressing the fourth imperative, Das observed that while India has emerged as the world's tenth largest insurance market by premium volume—with collections of nearly ₹11.9 lakh crore and assets under management exceeding ₹74 lakh crore—the sector's reach and depth must grow further. The vision of insurance for all by 2047 aims to transform insurance into a universal social safety net, requiring efforts to enhance affordability, deepen distribution, leverage digital innovation, and strengthen awareness.

Finally, Das emphasized the fifth imperative of making India a pensionable society through asset-backed pension schemes to protect the elderly from financial stress and provide economic security. He noted that the National Pension System (NPS) has generated higher returns than traditional savings instruments at lower operational costs, and the next phase of pension penetration must focus on expanding coverage beyond the formal sector to reach a larger share of the workforce.

"The five developmental imperatives outlined by Shaktikanta Das provide a clear roadmap for strengthening India's financial architecture. For the startup and business ecosystem, a deeper credit market, robust corporate and municipal bond issuances, and broader insurance and pension coverage will be critical drivers of long-term economic stability and capital availability. Financial institutions and enterprises must align their strategies with these national growth priorities to support infrastructure development and financial inclusion across tier 2, tier 3, and rural markets." — Dr. Shishir Gupta, Founder & CEO, StartupLanes