India's massive poverty can only be solved through rapid GDP growth—this creates jobs, increases tax revenue, and builds infrastructure that actually reaches poor people. Countries like South Korea and China lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty by focusing on growth first; welfare spending without economic dynamism just drains the state and keeps people dependent. We can't afford to divert resources away from what makes the economy expand when we have 250 million people still in poverty.
Growth doesn't automatically reach the poorest Indians—40 years of liberalization has created wealth for the top earners while rural wages stagnate and farmers still struggle. Direct welfare like MGNREGA, food subsidies, and healthcare actually save lives and allow people to participate in the economy; starving these programs to chase GDP numbers just reproduces inequality. India's moral obligation is to its weakest citizens first, not its balance sheet.
