Sunday 25 December 2011

INDIA’S ECONOMY, 1991-2011

The Times of India

ZERO REFORM SOCIETY: HAS THE ECONOMY GONE TO THE DOGS?

Srivatsa Krishna

The Times of India, December 25, 2011

An unprecedented fiscal deficit heading northwards of 5.4% of GDP; probably the highest ever-current account deficit in India's modern economic history; a crisis in the Middle Eastand rising oil prices; huge governance and institutional challenges with a weak minority government, along with a paralysis of decision-making and reforms.

Did you think i was talking about 2011? No! I was actually talking about 1991; exactly 20 years ago and the similarities couldn't be eerier or starker. So is India's economic miracle getting over?

From 1991 till today the progress has been remarkable. An infrastructure-constrained, foreign capital inflows-starved, democracy-adjusted economy moved to a 8-9% rate of growth, reduced poverty from about 46% to 31%; savings rate shot up from 22% to 36%, and per capita income moved from $300 to $1800 during these two decades. Not at all an unimpressive achievement, considering the fact that the period has seen five, 24 or 25-party coalition governments, and yet the direction of reforms so far has been by and large progressive.

(...) [artículo aquí]

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