"India to topple Japan as world's 3rd-largest economy", states a headline in The Economic Times. "India may become a superpower by 2025", states another. But, it was the front page of the Times of India, dated 15th january 2012, that compelled me to rethink about the validity of such prophecies and the path we are treading to convert these prophecies into realities.
It was very heartening to hear the officials forecasting a GDP growth rate of 7%, even amidst the dark clouds of recession, hovering over the entire globe. Learning that the inflation rate started turning negative, especially, in the food sector, was even more encouraging. The fact that India succeeded in eradicating polio out of its soil, with no victim registered in the previous year, deserves a huge applause. But, there are several areas which still deserve a lot of attention from our policy-makers.
One of them is the primary education sector. Though India can boast about its higher education sector, with the IITs and the IIMs providing a cutting edge to the country's competitiveness in the world, the primary education is still reeling under the curse of the inefficient system. According to a global test conducted by PISA (Program for International Student Assessment), Indian students ranked second last among the 73 countries that participated. The test assessed the students based on Math, Science and reading abilities. What went wrong? Or rather, what is going wrong? I don't find myself capable enough to answer these questions. But one thing is for sure. There is some disorganization that is strangling our growth in this particular sector. May be our techniques of teaching are obsolete. May be we have failed to cope up with the needs of the dynamic world. May be we have focused too less on the liberal education. May be we have relied too much on the definition of literacy in India, which says, "every person above the age of 7 years who can read and write in any language is said to be literate". The causes can be multiple. But the problem demands counter-measures. Ending this issue on a positive note, I would like to quote a statement by Shaheen Mistry, CEO of the Teach For India Programmme: "I am glad that now there is data that lets people know how far we still have to go."
The second major issue that poses a threat to our dream of becoming a superpower, is malnutrition, which is prevailing in several parts of India. According to the news headlines, 230 million people in India go hungry daily. 44% of the under-5 children are underweight. The under-5 mortality rate is still 7%. Recently, there has been a lot of hue and cry over the food security bills and the food subsidy issues. Do the benefits of subsidy provided by the government reach out to the needy? Or do they just dry up completely, while creeping down through numerous layers of the middlemen? The gap between the rich and the poor is still to be abridged. The Ambanis, the Tatas, the Birlas and other members of the elite Indian class are contributing successfully to the soaring growth of the country. But there have not been any significant changes in the lives of the comman man. Let's not forget that India is a mixed economy, wherein socialism has an equal say as the capitalism has.
The problems are many. The solutions are few. The need of the hour is to discover solutions that are efficient and flexible. Citizens blaming the government and opposition party blaming the ruling party won't be of any help to anyone. Working out on the issues is a collective responsibility of everyone. Framing prudent policies is the duty of the policy-makers and selecting those policy-makers prudently is the duty of every citizen. The elections in 5 states are round the corner. Go out and vote! Vote smartly!
