The Hindu Business Line : India at sixty

India has made commendable growth in various sectors in the last sixty years. Considering the diversity of the nation, the overall performance can be rated as good. The tag of the underdeveloped country has been changed into economic super power.

Space technology has taken India into the big five. The IT revolution of the last decade has catapulted India into the software power house. Acquisition of various foreign companies by Indian corporates, amidst stiff competition, has taken the world by storm. Telecommunication, manufacturing, services, and so on, have contributed immensely to the economy. The investment climate has dramatically spread into new areas. From the traditional bank deposits, postal savings and gold, Indians have taken a well calculated risk and benefited immensely by selecting shares, mutual funds and real-estate. The Indian stock market is one of the best performers in the world today. The burgeoning middle-class has attracted the attention of several MNCs.

Despite the cultural diversity and economic inequality, India is the largest democratic nation. With the advent of IT, BPO and other related sectors, the unemployment problem has been solved to a large extent. The earning capacity of the youth has gone up several folds, thereby making the migration to foreign countries less attractive. However, we have grossly underutilised the rural sector. Lot is to be done to improve the living conditions of rural people. It is time the government revamps the Five-Year Plans to make it more meaningful.

B. N. Bharath e-mail