India will become the fastest-growing of the world's major economies over the next 50 years.
This according to a Goldman Sachs study, among other findings cited by Fareed Zakaria of Newsweek.
Many Indian companies are growing at impressive rates, with annual gains ranging from 15% to 25%.
Yet more than 300 million people in India live on less than $1 a day, with 500 million others earning less than $2. About half of female Indians are illiterate. India also has the world's second largest HIV population.
These facts reflect just how polarized India is. Highly educated entrepreneurs fuel a world-class economic boom in sharp contrast to the destitute masses at the other end of the spectrum.
Although India's rising middle class is young and not expected to age as fast as those in other countries, this is not the central reason for India's seemingly chaotic distribution of wealth.