By Bitan Bhadra
India and china are two similar stories yet so different. Two Asian prowesses coming out of nowhere and taking the world economics by storm in the last few decades. Both facing a population crisis yet the demography is what differentiates the most. One known to be communistic while the other the largest democracy.
The highs and lows of India
India unlike china has been described by many to be a bottom up system. The huge labor force, educated and ambitious individuals has driven this nation into limelight. The agriculture sector of India is one of the best in the world. Yet there are sporadic areas within the country where farmers day to day living conditions are not better off. There are huge amounts of agriculture-able land yet production is lesser as what it should be. The farmers rely on outdated technologies and the type of fertilizers and irrigation methods used are not very efficient, at times they degrade productivity. The manufacturing sector is perhaps the most backward sector of India. It caters to roughly what the nation needs but fall very short to what an ambitious nation like India wants.
Although many multi-national corporations have started manufacturing within the country, its domestic manufacturing sector is not that developed as much a young ambitious India should have. There are a few big names in world manufacturing market that are so called desi or Indian in its own language. The most developed is the services sector. In fact there is a saying in west that computers have evolved from Indians. India has totally hijacked the BPO industry of the world. The software industry of India is at parallels to California. Bangalore, hub of Indian services industry is called the silicon valley of the east. Almost all software and services companies operate out of India; in fact the biggest projects are always handled by Indian engineers. The country is producing engineers at a humongous rate each year and the low working tariff they charge along with acquaintance with English has made them the most sought after professionals in the world. There are big names in world services market that ar Indian home grown and many start ups are growing by the day.
But the country is reeling from a variety of problems. The problem of poverty is still huge. The country, which is the greatest services market also surprisingly, have a huge uneducated population. The rural regions comprise almost 70% of the population yet is highly undeveloped. The political system is stable yet the presence of numerous national and regional parties makes government working and decision making slow. There is rampant corruption in the country and people have taken to the streets time and again in protest of the same. India has the potential and demography to be a future superpower but it all depends on the road it takes and its governance in the coming years.
Bitan Bhadra is a mechanical engineering student from KIIT University. His areas of interest include politics, international affairs, social systems and economics. He is optimistic of India and its future. He has previously written in many platforms on various issues. He is also an avid traveler, trekker and chess player.