INDIA’S GLOBAL POSITIONING

India has been a rising democracy ever since it got its independence from the British rule.

1. Economy: India’s GDP which is US $ 2.25 trillion is ranked seventh in the world. With US $
8.72 trillion is third in the world. India’s GDP growth of 7.6% is first for major economies of the
world.

2. India is ranked 7th largest producer of Cars, and in steel production India is ranked 3rd largest
next only to China and Japan, and above USA. India with cement production is ranked 2nd after
China. India has overtaken Germany and Italy to 2nd place in export of textiles next only to China.
India is also 2nd in Global textile manufacturing and also second in Cotton and Silk
production. INDIA is ranked 4th in refining capacity of 4.307 million barrels per day as on 2015.

3. Army: Indian military is 4th most powerful one in the world. India is also a nuclear power. The
fourth most powerful navy in the world is that of India. India’s missile technology is one of the
most powerful one. India is the fourth country to possess Missile Ballistic Defense System after
USA, Russia and Israel.

4. Technology: Indian technology is one of the most modern and state of the art technology. India
has achieved a very high degree of success in Space technology, IT sectors, Missile technology,
etc. ISRO has achieved many milestones by reaching Moon, Mars etc. Also by putting

INDIA – POTENTIAL GLOBAL FINANCIAL POWERHOUSE

Twenty-five years ago I was hugely optimistic that with the control and licence raj ending, India
would move to an economy largely regulated by market forces. I was hopeful that competitive
forces would start to operate in all sectors and that would result in products and services improving
to reach global standards. Some areas of business did benefit from liberalisation and competition.
Mobile telephony would never have spread to all corners of India, with costs becoming the lowest
in the world, without the lifting of controls and opening up to competition. The disappointment
over these years has been the failure to extend the full benefits of liberalisation to all sectors of
manufacturing and services. Agriculture remained a highly controlled and regulated sector and the
rural-urban income disparities only increased. The mindset of policymakers only partially changed
from the full control mentality of the past.

The automobile sector immensely benefited from competition. The production and sale of cars has
continued to grow, from less than 200,000 vehicles then to nearly 4 million cars now, making India
the world’s fourth-largest car producer. The quality, design and performance of cars is world-class
There are several other success stories in the past 25 years. Despite these successes, overall
industrial growth has not accelerated, and manufacturing has cent of GDP. India over the years
became a country where it was very difficult to do business or establish a competitive
manufacturing industry. Tax evasion, black money and corruption continued to grow and flourish
and was accepted by most as a permanent part of life. Team working and partnership between
politicians, bureaucracy and industry failed to develop and resulted in economic growth being
below our potential.

The past 25 years have seen the social change that the internet and the Smartphone is bringing to
the country The ability to access information about any subject from anywhere in the world is
rapidly changing the thinking and behavior of the youth. They are becoming much more
independent of the beliefs and thinking of earlier generations. Their aspirations are very different,
and they want jobs and the means to meet these aspirations.

The reduction in the voting age to 18 has led to the voting power of the youth increasing in every
election. They no longer vote as their parents did and caste and religion are not as important as
development and jobs. It is exciting to think that in the next quarter century, politics in India will
become development-oriented, productivity and competitiveness will rise sharply and India will
become an economic powerhouse.