Mumbai: Does an India grappling with inflation and politics of convenience have anything to look forward to? C K Prahlad, thinker and management guru who was in the city last week, spelt out his vision for India at 75.
The Paul and Ruth Mc-Cracken Distinguished University Professor at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, spoke to faculty and students at the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies on India's dream run to 2022 and dwelt on issues such as governance and the hurdles that the country will be faced with.
India at 75: India has the potential to lead the world in 2022 with its predicted largest pool of manpower comprising 200 million college graduates and 500 million trained and skilled workforce. It could be home to at least 30 of the Fortune 100 companies of the world and will be able to generate over 10% of the world trade. By nurturing a vibrant renaissance of worldclass contemporary art, science, research and education, it could have at least 10 Nobel Prize winners. This is possible in the next 15 years, provided leaders focus on this goal as a priority. This position is possible only when India works on all three fronts—economic growth, technology development and moral leadership.
Key drivers: They relate not to abject poverty but income inequality, changing lifestyles, urbanisation and emergence of universal aspirations, a dramatic change in price-performance relationships, economic development as well as ecological crisis and finally the role of governance and the rule of law.
Two Indias: An important consequence of rapid economic development and globalisation of the economy are the lags and asymmetries in the benefit results. A section of society will benefit and
some will lag behind. These asymmetries will create multiple new divides in society—divides between educated and the uneducated, the urban and rural populations, between regions of the country as well as between ethnic groups. As a consequence, income inequality will emerge as a source of social tension.
Migration and unfulfilled dreams: When people come to the cities, their aspirations change dramatically. They look at the rich as a benchmark. Their income may not change as rapidly as their aspirations. This can lead to a significant increase in social unrest.
Changing dynamics: Changing lifestyles of the poor and their emergence as consumers, has altered the priceperformance envelop dramatically. This increasing capacity to create lifestyle equality can provide an antidote to the increasing income inequality. The trend is likely to be further supported by the changing nature of markets around the world.
Fortune at the bottom: The rate of the cost per unit of functionality is changing in high technology implying that the poor can afford products and services incorporating the latest technology. The consequence of this rise in affordability is going to create explosive growth in consumption. Achieving inclusion: The current development models for energy, water, packaging, waste per capita are inappropriate and there is a need to develop fundamentally new ideas. We have to find better use of resources and support new innovations in this area for uninterrupted inclusive growth with ecological sensitivity.
Misgovernance: A nation does not get rich first and then becomes less corrupt. It becomes less corrupt before it gets rich. The explicit, quantifiable price we are paying for corruption and the neglect of human resources in the country is staggering and should be the focus of national debate.
hemali.chhapia@indiatimes.com
The Paul and Ruth Mc-Cracken Distinguished University Professor at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, spoke to faculty and students at the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies on India's dream run to 2022 and dwelt on issues such as governance and the hurdles that the country will be faced with.
India at 75: India has the potential to lead the world in 2022 with its predicted largest pool of manpower comprising 200 million college graduates and 500 million trained and skilled workforce. It could be home to at least 30 of the Fortune 100 companies of the world and will be able to generate over 10% of the world trade. By nurturing a vibrant renaissance of worldclass contemporary art, science, research and education, it could have at least 10 Nobel Prize winners. This is possible in the next 15 years, provided leaders focus on this goal as a priority. This position is possible only when India works on all three fronts—economic growth, technology development and moral leadership.
Key drivers: They relate not to abject poverty but income inequality, changing lifestyles, urbanisation and emergence of universal aspirations, a dramatic change in price-performance relationships, economic development as well as ecological crisis and finally the role of governance and the rule of law.
Two Indias: An important consequence of rapid economic development and globalisation of the economy are the lags and asymmetries in the benefit results. A section of society will benefit and
some will lag behind. These asymmetries will create multiple new divides in society—divides between educated and the uneducated, the urban and rural populations, between regions of the country as well as between ethnic groups. As a consequence, income inequality will emerge as a source of social tension.
Migration and unfulfilled dreams: When people come to the cities, their aspirations change dramatically. They look at the rich as a benchmark. Their income may not change as rapidly as their aspirations. This can lead to a significant increase in social unrest.
Changing dynamics: Changing lifestyles of the poor and their emergence as consumers, has altered the priceperformance envelop dramatically. This increasing capacity to create lifestyle equality can provide an antidote to the increasing income inequality. The trend is likely to be further supported by the changing nature of markets around the world.
Fortune at the bottom: The rate of the cost per unit of functionality is changing in high technology implying that the poor can afford products and services incorporating the latest technology. The consequence of this rise in affordability is going to create explosive growth in consumption. Achieving inclusion: The current development models for energy, water, packaging, waste per capita are inappropriate and there is a need to develop fundamentally new ideas. We have to find better use of resources and support new innovations in this area for uninterrupted inclusive growth with ecological sensitivity.
Misgovernance: A nation does not get rich first and then becomes less corrupt. It becomes less corrupt before it gets rich. The explicit, quantifiable price we are paying for corruption and the neglect of human resources in the country is staggering and should be the focus of national debate.
hemali.chhapia@indiatimes.com
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