Stage 1
You lead a primitive, Stage 1 Country. Death rates and birth rates fluctuate, and increase rate is virtually nonexistent. Your people lead mostly agricultural lives, growing just enough food for themselves (subsistence agriculture). There is no power or water grid to speak of, and the capital is the only major city.
Choice 1: Self-sufficiencyYou know from India that a country can develop by placing barriers to trade. This encourages internal companies to flourish. Subsidies to internal companies help them overcome financial challenges. However, you also know this choice encourages inefficiency, because will make up the difference.
Choice 2: International TradeRostow's Development Model encourages a country to specialize in a certain field. Your country contains large amounts of iron, perfect for making steel. If you sell the steel on the global market, you can make large amounts of money to improve your country. However, this runs the risk of not being able to break into the market, as steel is well established. This also may make you too dependent on the More Developed Countries who buy from you.
Note: any of these circumstances can lead, in reality, to development. There is no universal path. I have merely chosen certain methods and ideas to succeed over others for the sake of a feasible project.