Can India Be The Next China?

Can India Be The Next China?

Is it possible? Can India become like China in terms of growth and economy within a few year’s time? It is an ongoing debate, where some people say India has the potential to become like China, while some say otherwise. What is your take on this?

Can India really be compared to China?

The economic reform of the country started much later than China. If China started it in the early 1990’s, in India, it started only a decade later. China grew tremendously in the past years, making it one of the world’s highest investment countries. India is vying for the slot now. As a prelude to that there was an infrastructure revolution of high-speed railways, airports, ports and the building of new cities within the country. However, China has been the main port for world factory for over 20 years now. The reason why China is known as growth miracle was due to its ability to grow substantially and produce domestically.

India has to achieve this kind of growth before it can be tagged alongside China in matters of economic growth. Here are certain areas where India still has to improve if it has to reach within the limits of what China has achieved:

• GDP, India invests only about 30% of it while China invests 50%
• China’s manufacturing industry is strong – 30%, compared to the 20% of India.
• China’s physical infrastructure capabilities still outsmart India’s

But if people are comparing India to China, then it definitely is good news. Because all India has to do now would be to improve its infrastructure, increase investment and make more economic reforms. And it can be done. The country has produced some of the best tech talents of all time.
Here are examples of that:
Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai
Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella

Both of them did their undergraduate studies in India and then moved on to America to do their graduation. Indian entrepreneurs are making it big, for example, Kunal Bahl at SnapDeal and Punit Soni at FlipKart.

This proves that Technology is one of the main growth engines of India, and where there is talent, there would be world governments interested in an investment. According to a study by LinkedIn, Bengalurru, Chennai and Mumbai are still the top cities in attracting tech talents, Chennai attracts 38% of new residents with tech skills, while Mumbai attracts 13%, New Delhi attracts 12% and Bengalurru attracts a whopping 44%. Other cities that follow close behind are Hyderabad, Pune, Noida and Gurgaon.

This proves that India has the talent, so if the CEOs and management teams use technology and skills proactively, empower the workforce and change their hiring strategy a little bit, then it is possible to change the working style of the country from being quantity-based skills to quality-based skills.

There was once a study that pointed out that five of the top 10 slots in the world are filled with Indians. So imagine how it would be if all those talents come to the country. There is no stopping India’s growth. The problem with the country was that most of good talents went global to earn a living. This was the scenario 10 years ago, but now things are changing slightly and even the topmost tech talents prefer to come to India. Once India brings in all her skilled talents, the country will enjoy its growth miracle.

India scores over China

India has another blessing, and which China doesn’t have presently. India has a huge population under the age of 35, or the “young” population and that serves as a stimulant for hires within the country and abroad. The population in China is now mostly aged which doesn’t bode well within the international workforce looking for young people to hire. And that is not all, the country now has to provide social security and health facilities to the aging population, which is a drain on its economy. China’s aging population makes the country less competitive for labor-intensive industries. The demographic changes that the country is going through right now is going to put the country far behind in the global hiring factory. Even though the country’s three-decade policy of one child per family has worked in slowing the growth of a new generation, the looming crisis the country is facing now is the fact that about 23% of the aged population cannot look after themselves.

The pro-growth policis by the Indian government

The government, under the leadership of Shri Narendra Modi has been able to bring forth several pre-growth policies in the country. Apart from the several policies that the Modi government has come up with, the policy of “Putting the Indian Economy on a Fast Track” is the most noted. In fact, the purpose of Modi’s foreign visits was to bring foreign investments to the country and to solve the financial crunch and crisis, the country is facing presently. Despite massive criticisms from anti-Modi supporters, the government has helped India’s GDP to skyrocket to 7.4%, making the country’s economy the fastest growing economy in the entire world.

The government has also brought forth several unique measures that would help in improving the education and skills of the youth in the country. Once all these have been implemented to their fullest capacity, you can expect India to be much different than what it was a decade ago. Perhaps, India will grow much farther than China within a couple of decades. Presently, the country is endeavoring to grow its GDP to 8%.

Interesting links about the topic:
Is India The Next China?
India Can’t Be The Next China

Pictures: Flickr.com/ Asian Development Bank/ UFV

The author: Reema Oamkumar is engaged as a thought leader at Software-Developer-India.com which is a part of the YUHIRO Group. YUHIRO is a German-Indian enterprise which provides programmers to IT companies, agencies and IT departments.