Just read the recent issue of Time Asia and came across this article that proclaims that India needs to envy and fear China should it continue to harbour those dreams of being a 'superpower'. First few lines of the article and I couldn't make too much of sense out of it, for always had been taught that co-operation, and not competition, tends to bring out the best of results and propels you to achievements. But as I read along, things started sounding meaningful. Go and read it here.
It is true we have achieved a lot in the past 7-8 years. And not just in IT but infrastructure, healthcare, even R&D to an extent. Something we have all to feel proud of. But then a mild comparison with our big neighbour and it all seems so trivial. They outnumber us in everything. What are the buzzwords today? FDI. They are way too ahead. Teledensity. Nothing that we can boast of compare to them. They even got on the F1 circuit. And if we are organizing the Commonwealth Games, then the Olympics are there! Manufacturing, Infrastructure, go on and I bet we wont come across anything but IT that we hold an advantage.
It is not that things aren't done here. The problem I feel lies in implementing. The Golden Quadrilateral managed quite well, but the NS and EW Corridors are in shambles. The Broadband which seems to be the primary concern of the Government for so many years is nowhere near ubiquitous. Two fundamental things that comprise connectivity and we see that we lag far far behind. And as the author points out, we may just get carried away in all this cooperation thingy continuing our reckless approach- the one which we adopted for the first 50 years since 1947. Perhaps the fear of the more powerful neighbour will force us into action. Afterall healthy rivalry can bring out the best sometimes.
It is true we have achieved a lot in the past 7-8 years. And not just in IT but infrastructure, healthcare, even R&D to an extent. Something we have all to feel proud of. But then a mild comparison with our big neighbour and it all seems so trivial. They outnumber us in everything. What are the buzzwords today? FDI. They are way too ahead. Teledensity. Nothing that we can boast of compare to them. They even got on the F1 circuit. And if we are organizing the Commonwealth Games, then the Olympics are there! Manufacturing, Infrastructure, go on and I bet we wont come across anything but IT that we hold an advantage.
It is not that things aren't done here. The problem I feel lies in implementing. The Golden Quadrilateral managed quite well, but the NS and EW Corridors are in shambles. The Broadband which seems to be the primary concern of the Government for so many years is nowhere near ubiquitous. Two fundamental things that comprise connectivity and we see that we lag far far behind. And as the author points out, we may just get carried away in all this cooperation thingy continuing our reckless approach- the one which we adopted for the first 50 years since 1947. Perhaps the fear of the more powerful neighbour will force us into action. Afterall healthy rivalry can bring out the best sometimes.
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