In this episode of Beyond GDP: The Social Progress Podcast, host Michael Green, CEO of the Social Progress Imperative, speaks with Dr. Amit Kapoor, Chairman of the Institute for Competitiveness, about the challenges behind India’s rise and why measuring progress requires looking beyond GDP.

Dr. Kapoor explains how India’s development story is shaped by social progress indicators, environmental pressures, and shifting global economic dynamics. From foreign aid and international development to urban pollution and global influence, the conversation explores how countries can measure success in ways that reflect the real well-being of their citizens.

They also discuss why GDP alone cannot capture a nation’s progress, what alternative metrics reveal about inequality and sustainability, and how India’s trajectory may influence global development in the decades ahead.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why GDP is an incomplete measure of national progress
 • How India’s social progress has evolved over the past decade
 • The global impact of foreign aid spending
 • Why many of the world’s most polluted cities are in India
 • How economic strength translates into geopolitical influence

Timestamps

00:00:00 Introduction & why India’s development story matters

00:01:38 Is India’s social progress slowing down?

00:03:35 Does foreign aid actually work?

00:04:11 Measuring progress beyond GDP

00:09:42 Why social progress indicators matter

00:13:21 India’s development trajectory and inequality

00:18:10 India’s pollution crisis and public health

00:20:22 Why solving pollution is so complex

00:23:32 Economic power and global influence

00:25:58 India’s role in the global economy

00:26:03 Can economic growth solve inequality?

00:27:39 Final thoughts on measuring progress beyond GDP

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