long time ago.  The West has a delusional image of India that it is spiritual, democratic, for human rights and advocate holistic health.  Since Ghandi and later, the Beatles, the West has been infatuated by "spiritual" India and will pull for India to succeed over those "dog eating", "organ harvesting", "slave labor" "dirty" Chinese.  30 years later they are still pulling for India.  But India can't cut it.  If they can cut it, they would have long time ago. FDI trickle in and then pulled out because it is a disaster.  Please remember, India has a GDP and population similar to sub-Saharan Africa countries combined.  It has not progressed beyond that for many decades.  Even lowly, lethargic and corrupt Indonesia has double the GDP per capita.   India GDP per capita (PPP, its favorite) is still lower than China's GDP per capita (nominal).

While China is strict on the governance level, it did its job pulling the population out of poverty into prosperity.  Citizens are seeing more freedom than they had decades ago.  They will continue to see more freedom as the society progress from middle income to upper middle income.  What good is democracy when poverty is suppressing the freedom of ordinary citizens?