Friday, January 14, 2011

Inclusive Growth

Inclusive growth means growth for all, growth for all sections of society which includes not only rich but also poor, not only powerful but also weaker sections of society.
Our country has seen rapid growth in the last two decades.When LPG (liberalization,privatization,globalization)
started in 1991, country was growing at modest rate of approx. 3 %. This rate was often called as Hindu growth rate. In post-liberalization, we started growing at a steady rate of 6-8%.
But this growth doesn't mean growth for all. Only a section of society is reaping benefits of this growth. For a vast proportion of society this growth means nothing. Still 70 crore people in our country survive on Rs.40 daily.
For a country growing with the rate of close to 10%, which boasts itself as the fastest growing free market economy of the world, it's a shame that it can't provide the very basic infrastructure which is necessary for survival. It's a shame that crores of people are deprived of proper sanitation, clean drinking water, shelter, basic health care etc. even after 63 years of independence and more importantly even after 2 decades of economic growth.
So little people are there in the bandwagon of economic growth, crores are left behind. So is there any surprise when there is naxalite outburst in the country? Considering the amount of injustice we did to them, this violence seems very little.If we don't provide the fruits of growth to the underprivileged sections of society then there will be total anarchy in our society. We can't sustain islands of prosperity in the midst of vast ocean of poverty.
So we have to provide the benefits of growth to the lower class, as we have successfully done it in the case of mobile communications. This technological growth has really reached to the lower sections of society, and i think this has only become possible because of the free market competition. So it's high time to take some tough decisions in terms of policies. Policies should be framed on the basis of the long term interest of the country rather than on the basis of forthcoming elections.