India’s slowdown – Farewell to Incredible India
Bereft of leaders, an Asian giant is destined for a period of lower growth. The human cost will be immense
Jun 9th 2012 | The Economist
IN A world economy as troubled as today’s, news that India’s growth rate has fallen to 5.3% may not seem important. But the rate is the lowest in seven years, and the sputtering of India’s economic miracle carries social costs that could surpass the pain in the euro zone. The near double-digit pace of growth that India enjoyed in 2004-08, if sustained, promised to lift hundreds of millions of Indians out of poverty—and quickly. Jobs would be created for all the young people who will reach working age in the coming decades, one of the biggest, and potentially scariest, demographic bulges the world has seen.
But now, after a slump in the currency, a drying up of private investment and those GDP figures, the miracle feels like a mirage. Whether India can return to a path of high growth depends on its politicians—and, in the end, its voters. The omens, frankly, are not good. [more]
Also listen to: Special report: India: Fixing the roof while the sun is shining
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Sep 27th 2012 — GETTING India’s slowing economy to grow again will depend on the government’s commitment to reform.
Comments
A nation’s growth takes place Vis a Vis its leaders’ growth. Never mind the nation, its corrpt dynasty of Nehru-Gandi family is growing.