I typically ponder what India would be like 10 years hence. A lot of erudite men and women talk and express their views about Vision India 2020. Would it actually be the India that I have pictured it to be? Would India be as prosperous as I have envisioned it to be? To me prosperity is correlated not only to affluence but also to corruption, crime, law & order, cultural heritage, economic health, social evils and so on. In my lifetime, I have watched our country grow andchange; change for much better.
In 60 years of Independence, India has transformed, from a socialist economy, into a liberal totally free-marketplace economy that rewards free of charge enterprise and entrepreneurship. These days, we proudly stand as the second fastest growing economy in the world with a robust and resilient financial system that has proved to be immune, to an extent, to the global economic recession when other countries such as the USA, UK and Japan are engulfed into the economic meltdown. As in 2007, India was the fourth largest economy in the world with a GDP of trillion (Buying Power Parity basis). Thanks to the regulated banking industry and the culture where individuals tend to save. India has evolved, socially and economically, and grown significantly in the last couple of decades. The Judiciary has played a critical role in formulating laws to overcome evils including exploitation of ladies, dowry, child labor, preservation of Flora & fauna. We seem to have overcome the stereotypes of gender roles, to a fantastic extent, and see that ladies do not fall behind men in any field. In the last decade or so, there has been a substantial investment in infrastructure projects in road, port, power and telecom sectors leading to the employment of millions of folks across the country. In 1998, the government created National Highway Development Plan (NHDP) for the development of roads across the country with an estimated cost of INR 54 billion. Such projects have propelled and stimulated the economic growth by offering employment to quite a few men and women. With much more disposable income at hand, these individuals spend a lot more on consumer goods, leading to an increase in the overall spending. Infrastructure projects, as a means of offering employment to the poor, have played a key role in reducing the inequity between the rich and the poor; for that reason, propelling equitable prosperity in India. With the government creating incentives for Foreign Direct investment, FDI inflow in India rose from meager 5 million in 1990 to billion in 2007-2008. This economic growth coupled with a focus on education has lead to the emergence of a a lot more prosperous, responsible and stronger middle class that continues to play a critical role in creation of a prosperous and enriched India. Nowadays, Indian IT business is considered a benchmark across the globe and India has emerged as the most favorite destination for outsourcing, leading to the creation of many job opportunities in India as well as abroad. Success of Indian corporations is not limited to IT business. Firms seeking foothold overseas range from manufacturing to pharmaceutical to Bio Technologies. In last few years, Indian manufacturing industry has proved its mantle by making several acquisitions overseas including Tata’s acquisition of Chorus, Tata’s acquisition of Ford’s Jaguar and Land Rover to name a few.
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