New Delhi, April 29 -- India appears to be on the yellow brick road towards an important economic milestone in the next five years. It will likely become an upper middle-income country in 2030, the third stage of the very long march from mass poverty to shared prosperity. Few countries reach the end of this journey.

The World Bank categorizes countries into four groups-low income, lower middle-income, upper middle-income and high income. India is currently a lower middle-income country. The third stage is now within reach. The fourth is still in the distant future.

Every April, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) publishes its economic forecasts for all member countries five years out into the future. In its latest release a few days ...