FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2009 AT 12:00PM
After my recent trip to China I've been extremely depressed. I think the first time any Indian goes to China they must have the same feeling of despair. We commonly say China & India in the same breath when we are talking about new world economies, countries that are going to drive the global economic engine going forward. It's a lie!
The only people who can truly consider the growth and infrastructure of these two countries as comperable are people who have not visited China. To say that India and China are at the same level of development is an outright fallacy, to say that we are a decade behind China would be a lie, and to say that we are a generation behind China would be optimistic. In reality I doubt that our infrastructure will catch up with China within my lifetime.
Democracy, we have. Roads, water, power... not so much. How do you measure the value of having democracy and at what point do you say - screw democracy, I just want wide roads, continuous electricity and kick-ass infrastructure? I don't have an answer but as Indians it is time we remove ourselves from the complacency of self comparison and raise the bar to the level of competing with China!
To finish on a positive note I leave you with a quote from Nandan Nilekani, the founder of Infosys
India is at a strategic opportunity. This is a result of its demographics, its entrepreneurs, its technology prowess, its democracy, the fact that the world is ageing while we are young; the fact that we have English as a language. All these are unique attributes. If we make full use of this opportunity, India could be a role model for the 21st century.
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