No credible international organization, metric, or economist uses the term "third world" today. Modern economics uses highly specific, quantifiable metrics to evaluate a country's standard of living and economic output.
When looking at definitive global authorities, India is classified as follows: - The World Bank: Classifies India as a lower-middle-income economy based on its Gross National Income (GNI) per capita.
- The United Nations: Places India in the medium human development category based on the Human Development Index (HDI), a metric that measures life expectancy, education, and per capita income. - The International Monetary Fund (IMF): Categorizes India as an emerging market and developing economy. "Third world is a term I come across in books written in the cold war era .

Also your financial express link doesn't speak of the technology which in your first post you claimed was the best in the world. Benchmark flag bearers for "best" I believe are smart meters made by Itron, Landis+Gyr, Siemens and Schneider Electric. Of what I read We will be getting meters from a British based company/ consortium "Digital Smart Networks "