India may become a superpower by 2025
By ET Bureau | 9 Feb, 2011, 06.08AM IST
MUMBAI: India is expected to become a superpower by 2025 when its per capita income nears $5,000 from $1,000 right now, a panel of eminent speakers at the ET Leader2Leaderforum on the sidelines of the Nasscom India Leadership Summit 2011 which kicked off on Tuesday.
Raghuram G Rajan, Eric J Gleacher distinguished professor of finance at University of Chicago, Gururaj Deshpande, chairman, Sparta Group, Soumitra Dutta , Roland Berger professor of business of and technology and academic director, eLab, INSEAD and Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar, consulting editor, The Economic Times, were the panelists at the discussion . Genpact CEO and president Pramod Bhasin, BT India chairman Arun Seth, Nasscom president Som Mittal, Nasscom chairman Harsh Manglik, also took part in the discussion.
Professor Duttta of INSEAD said "our priority should be to bring people out of poverty, to bridge the gap between the haves and the have-nots ." The panel also took a critical view of India's democracy and said that there is a need to look inwards and set the house in order before vying to become a superpower.
Professor Dutta said while India is admired by the outside world, the stress should be on equitable distribution of wealth. He also called for opening up of more channels of co-operation with neighbouring countries. Raghuram Rajan of University of Chicago said: "India should not necessarily be loved, but respected by its neighbours. US has always faced the perception of acting as a big brother. But its the sheer economic power of US which helps it to become respected and dictate terms." Addressing the panel, he said "while its nice to be a superpower, have more friends and be able set the rules of the game, the country needs more clarity on what it wants to do when it becomes a power to reckon with."
"Within the state structure, there is an element of competition and there is no overwhelming theocracy and the state is not oppressive and hence there is room for hope. It is something which will emerge in the future," he added. Despite being plagued by problems of corruption, erosion of democratic and secular values, and internal strife, there is still hope for the nation to become a big power if honest institutions are strengthened, summarised the panelists.
All agreed that India should achieve a per capita income of $5000 from $1000 today to achieve a superpower status. Gururaj Deshpande said the nation needs to export hope by setting examples of true leadership and high economic growth. Deshpande, said that organsiations that work are more harmonious in India. "Technology and accessibility to information is changing the country in a positive direction," he said.
By ET Bureau | 9 Feb, 2011, 06.08AM IST
MUMBAI: India is expected to become a superpower by 2025 when its per capita income nears $5,000 from $1,000 right now, a panel of eminent speakers at the ET Leader2Leaderforum on the sidelines of the Nasscom India Leadership Summit 2011 which kicked off on Tuesday.
Raghuram G Rajan, Eric J Gleacher distinguished professor of finance at University of Chicago, Gururaj Deshpande, chairman, Sparta Group, Soumitra Dutta , Roland Berger professor of business of and technology and academic director, eLab, INSEAD and Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar, consulting editor, The Economic Times, were the panelists at the discussion . Genpact CEO and president Pramod Bhasin, BT India chairman Arun Seth, Nasscom president Som Mittal, Nasscom chairman Harsh Manglik, also took part in the discussion.
Professor Duttta of INSEAD said "our priority should be to bring people out of poverty, to bridge the gap between the haves and the have-nots ." The panel also took a critical view of India's democracy and said that there is a need to look inwards and set the house in order before vying to become a superpower.
Professor Dutta said while India is admired by the outside world, the stress should be on equitable distribution of wealth. He also called for opening up of more channels of co-operation with neighbouring countries. Raghuram Rajan of University of Chicago said: "India should not necessarily be loved, but respected by its neighbours. US has always faced the perception of acting as a big brother. But its the sheer economic power of US which helps it to become respected and dictate terms." Addressing the panel, he said "while its nice to be a superpower, have more friends and be able set the rules of the game, the country needs more clarity on what it wants to do when it becomes a power to reckon with."
"Within the state structure, there is an element of competition and there is no overwhelming theocracy and the state is not oppressive and hence there is room for hope. It is something which will emerge in the future," he added. Despite being plagued by problems of corruption, erosion of democratic and secular values, and internal strife, there is still hope for the nation to become a big power if honest institutions are strengthened, summarised the panelists.
All agreed that India should achieve a per capita income of $5000 from $1000 today to achieve a superpower status. Gururaj Deshpande said the nation needs to export hope by setting examples of true leadership and high economic growth. Deshpande, said that organsiations that work are more harmonious in India. "Technology and accessibility to information is changing the country in a positive direction," he said.
