Democracy of india - Free Essay Example

India is a large and strategically important democratic country with a growing service sector and significant industrial (including nuclear and aerospace) capabilities. It has the second largest population in the world and is a major military and economic power in Asia. As measured by nominal gross domestic product, India is the tenth largest economy. If economic size is measured by purchasing power, i.e. based on global prices for what people buy, then according to the World Bank, India is already the fourth largest economy in the world, just behind the USA, China, and Japan (The Economist, 2001) Policy mandarins launched a much needed and wide-ranging macroeconomic liberalization, reforms, and restructuring program. The rupee was devalued, fiscal imbalances were addressed and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was approached for balance of payments support. A stabilization package was agreed upon with the IMF. Dr Manmohan Singh, a widely respected trained economist, was the finance minister during the early 1990s, was the architect of this IMF-assisted, market-oriented, and reform program. Strictly regulated bureaucratic controls over the economy began to be loosen. Policy measures were initiated to liberalize external sector and decontrol industry. This resulted in giving the development strategy a new direction towards trade and private sector (Mukherji, 2008). Indias approach to development strategy represented a pioneering attempt by a non-western ex-colony to achieve higher standards of living through conscious and deliberate creation of institutions and policies, and through active state participation in, and direction of the process of development. It emphasized modernization through selfreliance, while enhancing social and economic equity. It is fair to say that this initial conceptualization of Indias development strategy was met with a reasonable degree of consensus and approval, both domestically and internationally. Academic ideas that found expression in Indias post-independence policymaking were relatively prevailing at the time. Many industrialized nati ons also took similar approaches to fostering economic progress in that era, albeit with different initial conditions. (Nirvikar, 2009) Indias recent economic success has come largely from newer industries, with a large component of intellectual capital and skills, such as the information technology industry and pharmaceutical research. From India, a group of world-class companies (competitive global brands) such as Infosys in software, Ranbaxy in pharmaceuticals, Bajaj Auto in automobile components, and Tata in car innovation have emerged. All or almost all these companies started as entrepreneurial efforts. Out of Forbes 200 of the worlds best small companies in 2002, there were 13 Indian firms as compared to Chinas four (Huang and Khanna, 2003; Huang, 2006). India Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanded 6.10% over the last 4 quarters. The India Gross Domestic Product is worth 1217 billion dollars or 1.96% of the world economy, according to the World Bank. Indias diverse economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of services. Services are the major source of economic growth, accounting for more than half of Indias output with less than one third of its labor force. The economy has posted an average growth rate of more than 7% in the decade since 1997, reducing poverty by about 10 percentage points. This page includes: India GDP Growth Rate chart, historical data, forecast and news. India Gross Domestic Product (GDP) chart, historical data, forecast and news. India Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanded 6.10% over the last 4 quarters. The India Gross Domestic Product is worth 1217 billion dollars or 1.96% of the world economy, according to the World Bank. Indias diverse economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of services. Services are the major source of economic growth, accounting for more than half of Indias output with less than one third of its labor force. The economy has posted an average growth rate of more than 7% in the decade since 1997, reducing poverty by about 10 percentage points India inflation rate stands at 11.64 percent year-over-year. Inflation rate refers to a general rise in prices measured against a standard level of purchasing power. The most well known measures of Inflation are the CPI which measures consumer prices, and the GDP deflator, which measures inflation in the whole of the domestic economy. Indias diverse economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of services. Services are the major source of economic growth, accounting for more than half of Indias output with less than one third of its labor force. The economy has posted an average growth rate of more than 7% in the decade since 1997, reducing poverty by about 10 percentage points. This page includes: India Inflation Rate chart, historical data, forecast and news. (The) Economist (2001), Worlds largest economies, The Economist, September 6, p. 10 https://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContainer.do?containerType=JOURNALcontainerId=15000791 access at 9.00 05.12.2009 Mukherji, R. (2008), The political economy of Indias economic reforms, Asian Economic Policy Review, Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 315-31. https://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContainer.do?containerType=JOURNALcontainerId=15000791 access at 04:00 05.12.2009 Nirvikar Singh, (May 2009) Research Paper No. 2009/31 Indias Development Strategy,Accidents, Design and Replicability available at https://www.wider.unu.edu/publications/working-papers/research.papers/2009/en_GB/rp2009-31/ Huang, Y. and Khanna, T. (2003), Can India overtake china?, Foreign Policy, July/August, pp. 74-81. Huang, Y. (2006), The microeconomic rise of India, Far Eastern Economic Review, March.