India's Economic Growth

Economists always have different views for one thing. If one will say that India’s growth rate would be touching around 8% by 2010, there will be many economists who will agree upon that country has just been riding the waves of rising global liquidity or in plain word, we just have been lucky. Once global economy slows down, so will be the Indian economy.

The causes to think so are many:-

1. The Indian economy has been service-led and not manufacturing-led as in other Asian countries.

2. Almost 90% countries which grew fast depended massively on exports. They also showed high savings and investment rates. Our growth is due to large domestic consumption and has a very low saving rate. Just compare the China’s economy with India’s. When we are in a competition with ourselves to become a consumption-oriented economy, they have been maintaining their investment-oriented economy.

3. Most countries, during their high growth phase, were ruled by authoritarian government. Be it China where people were summarily told one fine morning that they have to give up home and hearth for a new road/dam/factory. Be it Soviet Union where Stalin had used lots of brutal methods. In communist ideology, pheasants were branded a pre-capitalist remnant, to be done away with in the process of modernization. Be it England where centuries ago, the enclosure movement had taken over which led to capitalist-agriculture, hence paved way for industrialization.
Mao Ze Dong had once said that “Force is the mid-wife of every old society pregnant with a new one.” But do we have any scope for this. If you see it, please give me your spectacle, so that even I can do the ‘Darshan’ of it.

India is a chaotic democracy and economic growth has been largely in spite of the government goofing up on everything from infrastructure to education. In any historical growth models, a strong emphasis on infrastructure, development and education helped sustain the booms and bear the busts. In India, growth has happened despite poor infrastructure and education. If we see the complete history of this land, we have been a closed society for a long time, where the slaves where being created at a home level using our great Manu-waadi Hierarchical system. In such a society, where the understanding of new economy is different for different class, the very first question which Indian face is the definition of IT era. Most of these people are living in a comfort zone. How many of them are really willing to wriggle out of this comfort zone and see beyond. There are few names, but they do not seem to suffice the need on a long term. To drive an economy of 1122 millions people, more hands are required. Hands with vision, hands with mission. More and more Entrepreneurs are needed to be promoted. Shit, what the hell am I talking about? Am I day-dreaming? Yes indeed. I better stop talking these idiotic things else people will start thinking that I am going nuts.
In such a case, the only statement which gives me a sense of relief is “Brain drain is better than putting brain into drain.”