How can Ekta help us become a global superpower? The aging west In the western world there is a grave concern about the aging of its population. Many countries are allowing the retirement age to go up. Many companies do not have a retirement age.
The governments are encouraging higher retirement age to delay paying pensions. In the western world a substantial number of couples do not have children because it conflicts with their life style. Many countries, including Japan, Germany, and Italy, will experience unprecedented population challenges. As their citizenry ages, the number of young people in the workforce will decline sharply - a shift that will put unparalleled strains on social services, retirement programs, and healthcare systems. It is seen in Australia that the majority of children are born to the couples that have come from overseas as migrants. Many Chinese migrants have more children after coming to Australia.
There is a push to increase the migration to be able to support the aging population. As the life expectancy has steadily increased the problem of aging population will only increase. This rapid aging will see the number of people over 60 triple by 2050 to nearly 2 billion worldwide. The population over 80 will soar fivefold to 379 million. The world’s population - led by Europe, North America, and Japan - will grow markedly older in the next 50 years.
Shift in global manufacturing base It is seen that due to globalisation the manufacturing units in the developed countries are unable to compete. They get priced out of the market. Many large manufacturers have moved or are moving to cheaper destinations. With the increasing globalisation the manufacturing base will shift to the countries that can produce at low cost and be able to give world-class quality. India will be a top destination for this.
Indian women as a great potential It can be foreseen that the employment opportunities will shift from the west to the Asian countries. Interestingly India has not benefited as much from this global shift as much as china and some other countries have. Due to its large skill based workers India has a very large untapped resource. We need to make the Indian industrial base more employable for our women. A woman can easily put few hours a day and develop herself as a good worker provided there is potential for child care and some support from the family.
Increased dependence of the west on the migrant work force Most countries now need the influx of young migrants to do a number of jobs. It is interesting to see that though the west needs highly skilled professionals, it also needs the masons, carpenters, cleaners and taxi drivers. We need to encourage migration from India that represents many fields rather than only high tech or software industry professionals. For this the common worker in India needs to get a bit more aware.
How Ekta can help here? There is enough data available about how much time an average Indian spends in front of television. And do I need to tell what they watch? Ekta Kapoor can do us a favour here. Ekta whom I feel is a wasted resource could raise the standards and usefulness of her serials. The Indian channels should show more and more skill based programmes rather than Ekta Kapoor specials such as “saas bhi kabhi bahu……….”. These serials only put Indian women in poor light. These channels can lift the bar and improve the standard of workmanship by putting more skill based shows. I am sure people can do away with horror shows by Kapil Dev and get more to the shows that encourage hobbies.
Filling the gaps I can see Indians being so talented with languages and quick learners can fill the gaps the following data indicate. As per a UN study following are a number of changes that could have long-term economic, political, and social implications around the globe. Among them are: • The Russian Federation could lose nearly 1 million people a year for the next half century, and its population could decline to just 104 million. In reaching this conclusion, UN population experts have joined a number of academic experts who have been predicting that Russia’s population is about to enter a free-fall because of widespread health problems and a declining birth rate. • India will pass China to become the world’s largest nation, with 1.57 billion people. • The United States will remain the third most populous country, and will be the only industrialized nation in the Top 10 by 2050. • The developed world - Europe, North America, Japan, and a few other countries - will see no growth in their total population of 1.2 billion in the next 50 years. Without immigration, their overall populations would decline. • The developing world, including India, Indonesia, Nigeria, and other fast-growing nations, will expand from the current 4.9 billion to 8.2 billion people by 2050. Growth could be even faster unless birth rates decline. • Life expectancy will rise almost everywhere. In developed nations, where it is currently 75 years, that will climb to 82 years (82.6 in the US; 88 years in Japan, the highest anywhere). In developing countries, the current 63 years could climb to 75 years. • Total world population of 6.1 billion is currently rising by 77 million a year (1.3 percent). Six countries are responsible for half the growth - India, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, and Indonesia. • Despite serious challenges, including the AIDS epidemic, the 48 least-developed countries are expected to triple in population to 1.83 billion in the next 50 years. • Thirty-nine countries are projected to lose population over the next 50 years, led by Russia, down 41.2 million. Other important losers, in millions: Ukraine (19.6), Japan (17.9), Italy (14.6), Germany (11.2), Spain (8.6), Poland (5.2), Romania (4.3), Bulgaria (3.4), and Hungary (2.5). From a global perspective, the UN study finds the world will be a much different place in 2050. In 1950, Europe had more than twice as many people as Africa and more than three times as many as Latin America. By 2050, the UN projects that Africa will have at least three times as many people as Europe, and that Latin America’s population will be approximately twice the size of Europe. Asia, which has always loomed large in population, will continue to be the biggest. With 5.4 billion people, it is projected to contain nearly 6 out of every 10 people on the planet.
Finally For Indians we just have to improve general awareness of our working class and request Ekta to give us meaningful programs so our next generation of workforce can help us expand our horizons. We will then be able to takeover.