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| India Rising: Stepping Up To The Economic Challenge |
India Rising: Stepping Up To The Economic Challenge
The World Economic Forum which is held annually in Davos recognizes a star, though not a celebrity but rather a country. This country makes a certain impact on the gathering of global leaders either due to a smart finance minister or an imperative tale of development or a prestigious gala. This year it was India’s turn to shine.
Since the nation’s birth about 50 years ago, India appears to be heading on the brink of two different futures. One side promises greatness and the other downfall. But as that drama draws to a close, a new chapter is about to begin. After the dramatic nuclear testing, the poverty and the disease, India is now emerging as a major Asian power, and possibly the world’s next superpower.
A lot of people will definitely wonder if it’s the same Indian they’ve been to, a country with rundown airports, rocky roads, and poor villages. Yes, this is the same India that has over 300 million people who lives a dollar a day. This is the same country that holds about 40 percent of the world's poor as well as the world's second largest HIV population.
Though that is the India that we all knew, it is undeniable that this country’s future will definitely promise to be brighter. Even in the midst of the slums, the change is palpable. The old clinch “great things start from humble beginnings” proves to be true with the India’s economic rising.
This surprising change is not a mere matter of luck or a stroke of good fortune. Rather, it is a product of years of hard work and perseverance. A good number of India’s big businesses started small. Indeed, small and medium enterprises make up 95% of the countries industrial units and about 70% of India’s employment.
As the Indian economy coordinates with markets all over the globe, new opportunities are presented to them -- from outsourcing to growing access to previously cosseted markets. Furthermore, companies have been forced to step up to the competition, expand scale and reduce costs. As with everything in the world’s erratic economic market, there are some who flourish while some go awry.
In the last four years more and more Indian companies are bagging the coveted Deming Prizes for managerial innovation, a prestigious award handed out annually by Japan. This is yet another proof of India’s rising.
Another indication that India’s economy is changing for the better, lies in the number of its recent visitors. Just about every prominent person in the business world is now visiting India. George W. Bush, Jacques Chirac, Bill Clinton and John Howard is said to have visited the country all within six weeks. It seems that the entire world, particularly the United States is courting India more than ever. The world has finally recognized India's potential. However, do they really know this complex, diverse country? Or better yet, does India realize what it wants of the world?
In the past 15 years, India has lays claim to the title second fastest-growing country in the world. This country comes after China, with an average of more than 6 percent growth each year. India’s growth accelerated to 7.5 percent previous year and is expected to remain at the same pace this year. Thus, a lot of people firmly believe that India could significantly develop at this higher rate within the next decade.
Although the country’s rise is not expected until the distant future, you have to admit that their present is already impressive. A lot of Indian companies are thriving at an amazing pace, with profits of 15, 20 and even up to 25 percent each year.
Sure, India's growth may be considered muddled, frenzied and spontaneous compare to the graceful flourishing of other Asian countries like China and Japan. But what’s admirable with India is that they are stepping up to the economic challenge not because of the government, but rather in spite of it. Though India does not have the lustrous infrastructure of other global leaders, it does have a considerable and increasing number of entrepreneurs who are determined to make money. They are resourceful in their endeavor and are determined to overcome obstacles even to the point of bypassing the bureaucracy. Surprisingly enough, India's way proves to be more advantageous.
Another phenomenon is that regardless of being an impoverished nation, India has managed to give birth to world-class companies such as Infosys, Ranbaxy and Reliance. Therefore, they proved once and for all that India has an authentic and profound private sector, an organized financial system and a resolute rule of law.
This set up is not just evident among entrepreneurs, even the Indian consumers are also stepping up. Young Indian professionals are no longer content to wait until late in life in order to save enough money to buy a house. Today more and more people prefer to take out mortgages. India’s credit-card industry is increasing at 35 percent a year. Personal consumption is composed of 67 percent of India’s GDP. This is certainly higher than China’s 42 percent or in any other countries in Asia, for that matter.
Indians are full of enthusiasm. The businessmen are excited about their prospects, while the designers and artists talked about expanding their influence across the globe. Even the entertainment industry is becoming restless; Bollywood stars are aiming to increase their audience abroad. It seems like with the simple twist of fate, the hundreds of millions of people in Indian have finally found the keys that unlock their potential.
Statistics and numbers are not enough to capture India’s rising appropriately. If it’s left to words, no words can suitably describe what is happening to India today than the words of its first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. As this famous Indian so aptly put it – “a moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance." |
| Average rating: 5 | Add 14 Apr 06 I.G. |
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