The decade that changed India

At the end of the decade India stands, if rather hesitantly, on the cusp of greatness. Certainly some of the adornments of big powerhood are there.

India consolidated its position as one of the top dogs of the global economy during the recession and along with China, our bigger and more self-confident neighbour, is now a permanent fixture at global jamborees like the G-20 and Copenhagen. We have even sent a mission to the moon and managed to build a halfway-decent highway network.

These achievements have happened because in the 2004-2008 period, India grew faster than at any other time in its history, before experiencing some hiccups caused by the global meltdown. Deft policymaking by way of an economic stimulus or two and the cushion of a huge domestic market ensured that growth only slowed, from 9% to a very respectable 7.5%.

The wonder decade

NDA and UPA: Vajpayee’s NDA carried out many reforms such as the opening up of insurance and the untangling of the telecom knot. But it was Manmohan Singh’s UPA government which presided over the growth spurt.

Foreign conquests: Tata Motors became the owner of British brands Jaguar and Land Rover while Corus, is owned by Tata Steel. These acquisitions could yet sour and other mega mergers, most famously Bharti-MTN, fell through.

500 million and counting: The cellular phone spread from the elite to the masses as costs tumbled.

Wheels for all?: India is among the top 10 automobile markets in the world and a leader in making fuel-efficient small cars. And biggies like Volkswagen and Toyota are waiting in the wings.

Code to glory: The outsourcing industries, software and BPO combined had become the engines for the creation of the new Indian middle class TCS, Infosys and Wipro were employing numbers comparable to armies, close to a 1,00,000 each.

Night riders: BPO, the poor cousin, also grew to critical mass. It provided job opportunities for lakhs of college graduates, some literature (Chetan Bhagat) and some tut-tutting from the moral police as large numbers of young people from the middle class worked night shifts.

Miles to go

India saves and invests over 35% of its GDP. The brute arithmetic of these numbers will keep growth humming along. Poverty and malnutrition, which afflict 30% of the population, remain a major challenge. And India is the only G20 country which does not control its entire territory. Naxalites are active in many districts, and myriad insurgencies rumble on throughout India’s north-east.