This is nothing unique to India btw. Check out all over east Africa for example of people who've done well in first world countries or just moderately well but have drive and ambition to start something back home. Common tale to hear about the merchant living lower middle class in USA but something of a legend and well off in north Kenyan cities trading and selling different wares, providing money transfer services, or mobile banking. Many gradually move their entire families over to Africa, even though the kids have lived their whole lives as Anericans. Interesting cultural and generational frictions flare up often.
This article is an apt read here; but in a little different context. The article talks about Indians fighting against real India which is undeniable, but the flip side is that this is the same fight which is enabling people in India to work the way they want. Sans the economic liberation, if development was left in the hand of Govt. (a job well done in China), we would not be seeing this spur. If that little percentage of Indians were not fighting against the real India to create their own work, India would not be where it is today. I am not trying to claim any top spot and I know that almost nothing has been done till now, but the improvements cannot be ignored. Talk about the IT companies; irrespective of the quality of work they do, they have definitely achieved something (USD6-10 billion in revenue) which looked impossible few years back, and when you see them operating you will find that they have hardly anything to do with the Govt. support, they manage their infra from tip to toe and sometimes they contribute to the surrounding infra too.
India is definitely a country to watch. With China's one-child-per-family rule, it could very well be India that becomes the new super power in the next 20-50 years...
I'd like this to be true, but I can't help thinking that much of this is just wishful thinking. India has terrible infrastructure, which as far as I can make out is only getting worse. All-pervasive corruption is a big problem as well, as is the fact that _all_ (at least something like 85% or more) politicians are criminals.
The (completely unscientific) impression I get is that things got better between 1995-2005 and are now getting worse. Maybe these expats are just seeing the delta between 199x and 20xx.
But your unscientific impression may be a little coloured by your age. (I'd wager you're late 20s, early 30s?)
I feel the same quite a few times - that things were getting rapidly better between 1995-2005, after which the pace of change became glacial to the point of regressing.
After putting a little more thought into it, I am almost certain that the way I feel this way is because I have a different view of the world now. I am older, more mature and more prosperous than I was in the early oughties, and subconsciously have a better standard of indicators that I look for, when considering 'how things have changed'. Consequently, things like the systemic corruption and poor infrastructure seem far more important to me now, than they did 10 years back. I suppose I was far less concerned about them, and looking more at access to information (the evolution of the Internet) and 'material pleasures' (malls, entertainment, global brands, etc.)
Basically, if I look at the situation in India today through the same lens that I did 10 years back, then I'd be prepared to say that things are still improving.
I think you unscientific impression is leading you astray.
India has its share of problems, and it has its share of corrupt politicians. But it also has a pretty robust democracy and part of what returnees are bringing home is an appreciation for governments that work vs ones that don't. And when the people don't tolerate an ineffective government they change it.
The other thing India is, is big. There is a lot of country there. While it's true you can find abject poverty and people manually crushing rocks with bigger rocks to make a handful of gravel to sell, you can also find vibrant urban centers with shopping centers and affluence that would make you think you were back in Europe or the US.
Its an interesting transition, and if they pull it off they will become a threat to China. But their economic development also puts a damper on some of the saber rattling too.
My own take on it is that nothing but good can come of India developing its economy into a completely vertically integrated one.
Do you mean a threat to China's status as leading economic power, or a threat to China? Improvements in productivity help all of us, because we make more stuff to share around; it is not a zero sum game.
I believe if they are successful they will be a threat to China's economic growth and their border disputes may spill out into more explicit hostilities.
From an economic standpoint they may be able to put together cost competitive manufacturing facilities with a better quality of life for their workers. That, coupled with the increasingly forceful way in which China struggles to maintain its margins are threatening the delicate balance in China between the benefit of hard currency and the challenge of an upwardly mobile workforce. (or not which would turn out to be the problem)
As more companies are put under pressure to avoid doing business with companies like FoxConn and the ability to keep information about working conditions in China out of the press is reduced. It makes for a challenging environment for the Chinese. To have a neighbor state pick up the slack with workers who, if they are successful can move on to big houses and a more affluent lifestyle, and are thus both happier and more productive in their jobs. That is the threat economically.
If India were to provide a ready market for Afghanistan's raw mineral wealth, that too could be problematic for the Chinese.
Aren't they they same. We are all on one big rock and access to petroleum, water, and food will become more limited and more contested as both economies grow. Economically and realistically, India is a threat to China, Europe and the US.
No, that's inaccurate. Bear in mind there's a difference between criminal behaviour, and, well, morally corrupt behaviour.
There are also broadly speaking two kinds of politicians. Those in countries where the quickest way to riches are to be part of the government, and those where it's easier to make really big money outside the government. In the former people are attracted to politics strictly for the money, whereas in the latter there are other desires (like fame, power and so on). The ones in it for the money are more likely to see government money as their own money and accumulate as much of that as possible.
The real problem with corruption though is not politicians. It's the civil service. While polititians set policy, and create laws, it is the civil service that we interact with every day. Corrupt cops, customs & border officials, judges, and so on have a far more devastating effect on every-day life than some minister or senator that buries a million here or a million there.
I'm not arguing for corrupt politicians - of course that's bad - they set the tone, and ultimately have the power to condone or condemn bribes and other considerations in the civil service. And of course politicians steal more in absolute terms, to the point where infrastructure is compromised - but the real "daily" damage is done when each transaction comes with an "informal tax".
Now if you want to talk moral behavior - then I agree there is definitely room for improvement. The whole concept of campaign funding means that elected officials are bought and paid for by those with the cash to spend.
things are still getting better. the presence of bad things doesn't mean you can ignore a huge upswing in living standards all over a country of a billion+ people.
Everywhere I go in Pune, I see new stores, new shopping malls, new apartment complexes advertising Italian marble and fitness centers [1]. The traffic on the roads today is unprecedented, caused by the fact that a huge number of Indians can now afford cars (car production has increased about 500% over the past 10 years).
Don't get me wrong - it's got a long way to go. This morning I just jogged through undocumented housing without plumbing or electricity. But to say things have not improved is just ridiculous - even many of the people without electricity had cellphones. (Certain shops let you charge a cellphone for a few rupees.)
[1] The fitness centers are, unfortunately, never used. My apt complex has a gym, and the weights are always exactly where I leave them.
Is that relevant to the analysis of the level of human development and well being? Kashmir probably lags behind because of the conflict, but the numbers for India as a whole are probably in the same direction as shown in the UN report.
That's a typo, it's almost certainly meant to say 200 INR/day.
India's GDP per capita works out to be about 145 INR/day, so it's plausible that the 80'th percentile would be 33% higher than that. It's a little unlikely that the 80'th percentile would be 1/7 of that.
The article is old and it quotes an unnamed 'survey'.
I'm reminding you again, the discussion here is about progression of India from its own past but you're either coming up with figures for some particular year or some senseless comparison with other countries. In other words, you're simply trolling.
Can't compare India to former Soviet countries- the Soviet countries had a much better infrastructure/educational/standard of living base.
In some former Soviet countries (Moldova for example), the standard of living has declined since the 80s, India on the other hand, seems to be improving.
Well because its absurd to call them born in 1991. Tomorrow if Catalonia or Basque nation were to secede or Scotland for that matter, would you call them born in 2011 in this context and then compare them with India?
Karimov boiled his people alive. I don't whether that means I should take the rankings with a grain of salt, or weep over India actually coming out below.
This index is about transparency, corruption, and accountability. India is transparent, but corrupt. China lacks transparency, but bribery is rare.
In India, you have to pay small (or large) bribes to get anything done. You are faced with a bureaucracy which wants to trip you up with red tape, to force you to pay more bribes. This is not conductive to small business.
China really falls apart when it comes to bigger businesses. State owned enterprises get preferential treatment for all kinds of things, especially funding. And bigger businesses have to follow regulations more carefully.
Are you trolling or something? The article mentions neither USSR nor India.
And FYI, the disintegration of USSR was due to economic crisis because of Socialism. India abandoned Socialism soon after the collapse of Soviet Russia and embraced American capitalism and the Indian economy is booming now.
I think our biggest challenge is the people who are completely marginalised, like the forest people driven in to a communist rebellion. As far as multiculturalism goes, I still have hope that some semblence of the feeling of letting others be still survives in India.
On 4th August 1932 Round Table Conference, Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald gave Autonomy/Homeland to Muslims/Christians/Anglo-Indians/Sikhs/SC/ST communities.
Gandhi foiled it to favor forward caste community in India.
I would be nice to survey these returnees for their satisfaction levels after 10 years or so. Theoretically speaking, given India's growth rate, you'd assume that people will grow rich faster than if they had stayed back in US. It would be interesting to see how many actually did.
By satisfaction I meant, were they satisfied with the decision to relocate back. One of the factors would be the opportunity cost; the money they would have made staying back vs actual money they have made.
So seeing your children die of malnutrition is better than having an underpaid job so your kids can get half a meal? If people have loaf of bread they might actually be able to change their circumstances. How would banning outsourcing help lower caste Indians or ethnic minorities in China? I am not trolling, because if it will, I'd like to know how.
I still don't see how that would help the poor people. Unless all you're talking about how it is diminishing income from someone who is already overpaid, which may be a good thing.
