Boom and Gloom: India’s Growing Economy and Mental Health Decline
SOCIETY / K.Venkateshwar. Rao 16 SEPTEMBER 2019 India is the fastest growing and fifth-largest economy in the world. In terms of purchasing power parity, India is number three, and in the 2020s, India is expected to outshine Germany to become the fourth-largest economy. India is likely to increase its population by around 273 million people between 2019 and 2050 and emerge as the world’s most populous country by 2027. India enjoys the demographic dividend of being a young nation. It is all set to become the world’s youngest country with 65% of its population in the working-age group by 2020. The paradox is that the fastest growing economy and the youngest country is the most depressed nation in the world. According to a World Health Organization report, around 6.5% of the Indian population suffers from some forms of severe mental disorder, with no apparent rural-urban differences. Approximately 50% of employees of the Indian corporate world suffer from stress, anxie