What Will India Look Like in 2061?

I came across an interesting book which compiles the views and thoughts of around 20 leaders from different fields about what India will look like in 2061. The people who have shared their thoughts are no ordinary people, but stalwarts from sectors as varied as education, retail, IT, communication, pharma etc.

This book proved to be an excellent read, but I sincerely felt, that views from a meditator, from a person who considers human beings to be much more than customers are missing. I am not at all an expert meditator or the one who understands world in and out, but I can certainly share a few insights on the topics.

What will India look like in 2061? To be honest, the answer which goes closest to the reality is, I don’t know. Considering the way world has been evolving over the past few years, literally no one can tell how will India exactly be in 2061, except a few random guesses based on present situation and some past trends; that’s exactly what I will be doing. I will keep my scope restricted to persons and their behavior.

1. People will work largely for satisfaction and money and less for loads of money

Money is new, for most of the Indians. India is still in the phase where job is looked upon as security, an indispensable means of living. Today’s young population is probably the first generation earning huge amounts of money. Certainly, the working class is enticed by the possibilities of making more and more money. As of today, young employees in India are happy to leave back happiness for money, what a contrast! But, as money becomes more and more common, people get used to and ultimately bored of luxuries and lavish life, a search for true happiness will start.

It is highly probable that having earned enough amount of bucks, and sufficiently fed-up of hectic work schedules, people will look at jobs just as a means of earning enough money and not loads of money. At present, Indian students are least bothered about the satisfaction and compensation is the sole parameter while selecting the job. This trend will drastically change and students will be more and more choosey about the right kind of job.

2.  People will learn to be self-dependant

Today, household labour plays a major part in Indian society. It won’t be an exaggeration if I say that many of the Indians turn helpless if their domestic help is away for a day or two. The society today has a clear stratification; educated people work in offices to earn loads of money, of which a small part they spend on the domestic help. In the process, the society has lost its ability to do work on their own.

As more people get educated, the cost of hiring someone for domestic help will certainly shoot up. This will teach Indian society to become more self-dependant, learning to manage their tasks on their own.

3.  40% graduates will have their own start-ups

Today, most of the talent prefers joining multinational organizations and working with them. As we have seen, most of these students are first among their families who are earning significant amounts of money. Imagine 2061, when kids of this generation will be graduating, with their parents already having earned loads of money. All the basic securities like cars and real estate will be already secured. This young generation would not be interested in continuing the same pattern which their parents followed. Considering the resources available at that time, these parents will themselves encourage their kids to go away from the normal boring path and create a world on their own. One more observation that justifies this is, the rise of fragmented markets. In 2061, the markets would be fragmented, with each market with a less number of people. Hence, a single big company will find it quite difficult to serve such markets with different tastes. This justifies the rise of local level small enterprises, meeting the demands of their small cluster of targeted customers.

4.  We will do many great things, but not without a purpose

A trend which is growing fast today is that of social causes. First popular in western countries, now on can easily find this trend in youth in India. The causes are noble, but those who work for them, have some purpose may be as trivial as attaching a certificate to their portfolio.

If one carefully observes, unfortunately, people are doing most of the things out of some purpose. I can imagine this trend picking up maximum momentum. I suspect, if this happens, whether we would be able to retain our ability of doing things without a purpose.

In 2061, I can imagine many noble things happening; people meditating, mastering art forms, helping out those who are left behind and all that. Everything of this will happen out of a cause and not out of pure human nature. There is nothing wrong with having a purpose, but it is worth noting that when we do something with a purpose, eventually the purpose becomes more important than the cause!

What do you think will be the face of India in 2061? Do share your comments!