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Forget world domination, India won’t catch up with China any time soon

Last year, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated 75 years of India’s independence from British rule, he called on the nation to “dominate the world”. Earlier this week, once again at the Red Fort, he evoked “Amrit Kaal” – a crucial era when the gates of opportunity open.

His “reform, perform, transform” mantra involves dreaming big. He was possibly dreaming of those halcyon days up to 1870 when India and China counted as the world’s two largest and most powerful economies.
But a dream does not make a plan. And in the nine years since Modi came to power, his plans to propel India to the top table of the world’s most powerful economies remain largely that – plans.

Harvard University’s Graham Allison reminded us in a recent Foreign Policy report that about a decade ago, the late Singapore leader Lee Kwan Yew had said India would never catch up with China and would always remain “the country of the future”. Lee said: “Do not talk about India and China in the same breath” – throwing the gauntlet down to those who see India biting at China’s heels and cheer India on in hopes of hobbling China’s ascent.

To be fair to Modi, his government’s economic performance is respectable after decades of stagnation and disappointment. India’s gross domestic product has grown by about 6 per cent every year on average since 2014, reaching an all-time high of 9.1 per cent last year – impressive in light of the upheavals of the Covid-19 pandemic and recession in many parts of the world.


But a wide range of structural reforms are needed if India is to escape the shackles of its economic past. These include the grip of caste, bureaucratic friction, impenetrable tax rules, still-chronic protection of local business magnates and import tariffs that are among the world’s highest.

Any country rising from such a low base must recognise that it will take many decades to achieve anything the late Lee would regard as parity with China – and that this is nothing to be ashamed of. Goldman Sachs predicted last month that by 2075, China would become the world’s largest economy (US$57 trillion), with India (at US$52.5 trillion) overtaking the US (at US$51.5 trillion).

Columbia University’s Arvind Panagariya has similar projections, calculating recently in Time magazine that if India’s real GDP grew at 8 per cent a year into the 2040s and 5 per cent after that, and if the US continues to grow on average by 2 per cent a year, India would overtake the US in 2073.

These are big “ifs”, even for those brave enough to make forecasts a half-century away. And huge bodies of data point India towards a more humdrum trajectory. According to Allison in Foreign Policy, back in 2000, China and India had economies worth less than US$2 trillion each. It took China five years to pass the mark and India 14 years. Last year, India’s economy was worth US$3.4 trillion – a fraction of China’s US$18.3 trillion.


It will take many years of stellar economic growth for India to begin matching China in economic importance, and no amount of miraculous thinking or “China plus one” investment is likely to accelerate that.

Also, many other important economic indicators remain problematic. India accounted for about 1 per cent of global manufacturing in 2000, compared with 7 per cent for China. By last year, India’s share had grown to 3 per cent against China’s 31 per cent. In 2000, India accounted for just 1 per cent of the world’s exports, and China 2 per cent. By last year, China accounted for 15 per cent of global exports against India’s share of 2 per cent.

World’s largest population: why it could be a headache for India

India enthusiasts celebrate the youthfulness of India’s population, but ignore the reality that this is a problem rather than an advantage when they are poorly educated or even illiterate. To accommodate them, India must produce an estimated 90 million new jobs before 2030.

Allison reminds us that China produces twice as many STEM-qualified (in science, technology, engineering and mathematics) graduates as India, spends almost three times the percentage of its GDP on research and development, and produces 65 per cent of the world’s artificial intelligence patents (vs India’s 3 per cent).

As Bloomberg noted in April: “India is far behind China in key aspects important for manufacturing that include infrastructure, bureaucracy, attention to detail and even a sense of urgency.”

Supporters of India in search of a “hobble China” narrative have been encouraged by companies such as Apple and its main Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn, which have made tentative steps to build investments in India, but ignore the challenges they have faced, and the reality that China remains their main manufacturing base.​


They have ignored the withdrawals of companies like the Royal Bank of Scotland, Harley-Davidson and Citibank, and the many other companies with plans on hold. They have tended to celebrate the deliberate obstacles to prospective investment in China, even where China is a natural partner and the benefit of collaboration is huge.

Rather than harbouring dreams of dominating the world, India’s policymakers would benefit us all by opening up their economy and recognising that even if India does not surpass China, it can still be a huge driver in the global economy. China and India together account for one third of the world’s population, one third of the global consumer class, and a quarter of all consumer spending in purchasing power parity terms.

The 21st century may not be India’s century, but it is almost certainly Asia’s. Washington needs to come to terms with that, and perhaps New Delhi does too.


The game has not even started. you are already going around proclaiming the results. If the cost of manufacturing in China is not viable Apple will move their operations.
In any case Apple wants to hedge their bets on where the products are manufactured

Are you an electronic manufacturing professional or expert ?

@GamoAccu
 
there is nothing to catch up. Under CCP, especially with the series of Xi fiascos, China has become a giant pen and the Chinese people mere cattle.

Indians otoh are human with freedom and organic chaos albeit economically developing slower.

We can only pray that the Chinese people get some human rights restored in the not too distant future.
Are you an idiot? China will soon be the world's largest economy.

Where in India? In the gutter!
 
The game has not even started. you are already going around proclaiming the results. If the cost of manufacturing in China is not viable Apple will move their operations.
In any case Apple wants to hedge their bets on where the products are manufactured

Are you an electronic manufacturing professional or expert ?

@GamoAccu

The game started long time ago. Delusional street poopers were boasting on the internet for decades that India superpower 2020.



ENHjZnfWsA8CAwY.jpg
 
The game started long time ago. Delusional street poopers were boasting on the internet for decades that India superpower 2020.



View attachment 947637

This Subramaniam idiot is such a moron that even BJP bigots steer clear of him. And as we all know, his daughter Suhasini married a Muslim guy.

And the idiot keeps saying that any country with more than 30% Muslims is in danger of becoming "unstable". Complete and utter go-mutra swilling nutcase....

I've been waiting since 2018 for India to exceed China in mfg. and turning into a superpower - but I'm turning blue now from holding my breath.

The game has not even started. you are already going around proclaiming the results. If the cost of manufacturing in China is not viable Apple will move their operations.
In any case Apple wants to hedge their bets on where the products are manufactured

Are you an electronic manufacturing professional or expert ?

@GamoAccu

You clearly aren't a manufacturing expert.

If labor cost was the only factor in sourcing Apple products then Apple's contractors would have moved mfg. from China to Congo.

It ain't happening.

A lot more factors are at play, such as skill, employability and aptitude of workers.

Qualities in which Indians don't fare better than Chinese I'm certain. I've seen mfg. in both China and India.

This is why Indians are talking frothily over and over again about Apple moving all mfg. to India from China - but only a small percentage of which has happened.
 
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there is nothing to catch up. Under CCP, especially with the series of Xi fiascos, China has become a giant pen and the Chinese people mere cattle.

Indians otoh are human with freedom and organic chaos albeit economically developing slower.

We can only pray that the Chinese people get some human rights restored in the not too distant future.

It's an idealistic statement, but not realistic.

To be honest, if the situation switched, suddenly your narrative is also switched.

You will not say the poor and chaotic Chinese as having freedom and their human rights are respected... you will even say the idiot Chinese people is being mistreated by their evil government.

You also will not say the rich and orderly Indian as cattle, because how can rich people who has money to go anywhere they can, lacks of freedom and their human rights are not being respected. Rich people get first class treatment everywhere they go. Even at home, modern subways, highways, world class international airports, skyscrapers, shopping malls filled with tons of high-quality products... aren't all of these being first class treatment, not everyone on planet earth able to enjoy such treatment.

I am not worried about world domination, I just want average citizens to have a better life. If we become a relatively middle income economy with lower economic disparity and better social harmony, that's way better than a chaotic domination.

It will!

India will achieve it.
 
To be honest, if the situation switched, suddenly your narrative is also switched.

You will not say the poor and chaotic Chinese as having freedom and their human rights are respected... you will even say the idiot Chinese people is being mistreated by their evil government.

You also will not say the rich and orderly Indian as cattle, because how can rich people who has money to go anywhere they can, lacks of freedom and their human rights are not being respected. Rich people get first class treatment everywhere they go. Even at home, modern subways, highways, world class international airports, skyscrapers, shopping malls filled with tons of high-quality products... aren't all of these being first class treatment, not everyone on planet earth able to enjoy such treatment.
Human cattles

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下载.jpg
 
The game started long time ago. Delusional street poopers were boasting on the internet for decades that India superpower 2020.



View attachment 947637

What is the name for a person who is dreaming of becoming rich but doesn't work for it?

But most important is what is the plan for it? How to make it work? What work needed to be done?

The sad thing is, people who know how to work are being defeated by people who just know how to talk.
 
So you have a disgusting habit of collecting weird photos. Got it

It's an idealistic statement, but not realistic.

To be honest, if the situation switched, suddenly your narrative is also switched.

You will not say the poor and chaotic Chinese as having freedom and their human rights are respected... you will even say the idiot Chinese people is being mistreated by their evil government.

You also will not say the rich and orderly Indian as cattle, because how can rich people who has money to go anywhere they can, lacks of freedom and their human rights are not being respected. Rich people get first class treatment everywhere they go. Even at home, modern subways, highways, world class international airports, skyscrapers, shopping malls filled with tons of high-quality products... aren't all of these being first class treatment, not everyone on planet earth able to enjoy such treatment.



It will!

India will achieve it.u seem to prefer hypotheticals to reality .
 
The game started long time ago. Delusional street poopers were boasting on the internet for decades that India superpower 2020.

Why are random tweets the basis for everything ?

You are the right game started long time ago. there is no end date in this game.

It is not like China invented anything. What was China exporting in 1988
 
I think a reasonable comparison may be made by simply asking people are you happy and contented. There is no reason to believe most Chinese are unhappy because China is an "authoritarian, single party" state. For Mr. Chin or Mrs. Wang, what matters is, can they afford the rent, food, school for the child, healthcare if needed and a general sense of peace and security. Highfalutin ideas like 'rights' don't bother most people.
Yes. bro. As I said, CCP must end. Modern China must restore democracy.

But this doesn't mean I have no sympathy for my Indian friends.

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I have always suggested that the Indian government buy some robots. Preserve some dignity for Indians.

I think Fulongma's technology is very good.


Weride's technology is also good.


Why must Indians live in sewers?
 

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