India has a very vibrant local economy which does not show up in nominal GDP. By GDP by PPP, India is the third largest economy in the world (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)). I consider India to be a solid middle income country, not any less that other countries you are talking about.
I am actually fairly proud of the changes I see in India in the last 20 years. I Some of the key changes I have seen (by no means complete): 1. Improvement in road transport with a nationwide single toll provider. 2. Indian railways has always been there as an affordable means of transport. 3. Getting a passport is now a couple of days and less than 24 hours with tatkal. 4. Healthcare is free for all. Yes, it varies from state to state, but government hospitals are available for everyone. Even otherwise, it is affordable. 5. Air travel went from just for the rich to middle class. 6. Government and publicly funded schools are reasonably good (The project director for Chandrayaan 3 came from a government school).
And yes, I am also very aware of the issues - political class abuses the power to enrich themselves. Different states have different development indices. But perfection is not needed for improvements.