To me, the question of whether a country is truly developed has little to do with its GDP. It can be answered far more simply: Can I drink water straight from the tap in my hotel room?

By that measure, development is rare. Just about two dozen countries in the world can credibly claim that their tap water is universally safe to drink. India is nowhere close. More strikingly, this is not even articulated as a national goal. Viksit Bharat — India’s goal of being a developed country by 2047 — is framed almost entirely around income growth and aggregate GDP, as if prosperity alone will deliver the things that make life secure, healthy, and dignified.

Sadly, it will not. GDP growth does not automatically produce potable water, clean air, safe neighbourhoods, or reliable public transport. Without these foundations, higher incomes merely push people with money into private substitutes — gated colonies, diesel generators, air and water purifiers, bottled water, and private cars. The vast majority will have to just fend for themselves. The result is a fragmented society where basic public goods are replaced by costly individual coping mechanisms — inefficient, unequal, and ultimately unsustainable.

In the case of water, the first requirement of any modern city is a continuous, uninterrupted supply. Yet, every Indian summer brings the same ritual: tankers lining up, resident welfare associations negotiating contracts, and households rationing a resource........

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