The International Writers Magazine: India

Buying India: A solution for our times • Shubhi S It was a matter of pride and enormous happiness when India gained independence from British rule.  After ruling over India and Indians for more than 100 years Britishers finally left.

India was once known as "sone ki chidiya" which means bird of gold, it literally was true, maybe the economic conditions were so strong during those periods which lead Britishers to come here and do business. Politically India was weak! It still is!

Here I would like to mention about India’s place in global economy, as we all know and are seeing what has happened to Indian economy. Since the beginning of economic liberalization reforms in 1991 Indian economy was witnessing a growth in overall economic structure but 2007-08 reported highest GDP growth rate of 9%. Once our economy started flourishing subsequently the GDP growth rate fell sharply down in 2012.

Now in the current economic scenario why are we talking about negatives? I mean if there is currency depreciation happening in country then is it a problem of internal system or the problem of global economy?

We do not talk about our exports; nor about our technologies, research and development, our agricultural sector and our production of goods and services. The problem lies within, India being an agriculturally strong country; neglects its potential for rising in the field of research and development. We are currently being dominated by the Dollar, but have we ever considered the fact that the amount and quality of goods that we import from other countries are costlier than that we export? If we focus more on quality production of goods and services in the country with the help of improved technology then we might be called a developed country in true sense.

The only problem is that we do not always consider India’s potential in the field of R&D and here we lag behind from other developed nations. Once in the report of OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) it was mentioned that the growth is going to be doubled if correct reforms are made for Indian economy. We do not prefer consumption of Indian products and go for imported products. Why do we let our money flow outside country?

By the home country product consumption we can create value for our Indian companies as well as value for Indian rupee. Like many other Asian countries India is also going through an economic crisis. Not because of globalization, but in the name of globalization we are choosing only multinational company’s products. I am not against MNC’s but the amount of harm they are doing to our country and our economy I or anybody probably couldn’t agree. Sure in 1991 globalization was the main focus of the then economic reforms, but also we should not forget that now we should be concentrating more on the production of goods and services which have global value.

Of course we create that by going for the products made by Indian companies. In the history of Indian economy we have often devalued our own currency. The Indian economy is on a verge of complete destruction as we are known for making good plans but not too good at practicing them in reality. Well, the effects of Eurozone crisis are already going to affect the Indian economy as the European Union and India are major trade partners. In one simple way we must understand that devalued currency and an economy in crisis leads to the worst of financial situations and might paralyze our economy. To overcome that we must now pull our socks up and stop the buck right here - because actions are sometimes more important than words.

Furthermore:

There have always been challenges in front of India. But Indian governance seems to be failing in every challenge that comes in its way. Recently one more trump card has been thrown by China. See the irony, Indian government is strong enough to protect its borders, but it is not doing so. It's not that our mighty government is not strong, or it does not have power, but the fact is that political parties and the so-called leaders just talk about issues!

It is a matter of shame for our country that we are letting somebody capture our boundaries. If the government is concerned enough then a tough stand should have been taken and not India’s external affairs minister Salman Khurshid merely talking about his China visit. The slow and constant entry of Chinese forces will keep going on until we stop talking about it and use the power and prove them that they can't just simply enter into our home. They will keep capturing our territories and cross the boundaries and Mr. Khurshid will keep talking about bilateral ties. This is really a big question mark for us and our government.

Are we going to live in the same conditions forever, or is this the beginning of the end? Other matters of concern are of India’s very own neighbour, that is Pakistan and issues related to India-Pak. Pak has proved that they can not be anybody’s friend. Pak did what it had to, no matter how much we spoke about the release of Sarabjit Singh but ultimately what happened? A slap over our faces. This was just an other example of Pak, that they are not going to listen no matter however you keep on saying and talking about resolving issues. This is not the failure of our government; in fact it’s our country’s. Yes, we all are liable for what is happening in our country now.

© Shubhi SJan 14th 2014
shubhsree09(at)gmail.com
*Worth noting that one of the worlds most successful companies in manufacturing is the Indian Company Tata

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