The recent phenomenon of an economic upsurge in our (India) country’s status-quo demands a new look at the present situation, the future promises and the long term goals that this might bring about. Specially for those who prefer to settle abroad.
India, potentially a house to more than 1 billion people found an unexpected asset in its population when it turned towards liberalization sometime back. The fact that the country’s economy had to be opened at a time when there was absolutely no other option to save it from bankrupcy (courtesy the doings of the V.P. Singh Government) was something seen by people at that time as the beginning of the indian economy’s demise. Time had other plans though, and in the times to come the economy showed smart growth, so much so that today the indian economy is among the 5 fastest growing economies of the world !!!
The other day I met one of my german friends. She was intruiged by the fact that most of the R & D jobs are getting transferred to India. Guess why?? India is today being viewed, and indeed is, an ocean of endless talent. People who come from normal walks of life are able to get enough education at a reasonable price which people in other ’’richer’’ countries either do not get or are too ignorant to care for.
The governement in germany(and most other european countries), for example, is in such dire straits that they are planning to increase the university fee all over germany (and europe)five-fold. That is from 100 euros to 500 euros per semester. That translates to 25, 000 Rs. I was paying more for my college (IIT Madras)per semester than I pay here. Thus its clear that the corrsponding increase in fees in most of indian colleges has been sustained preety well. And we still talk of a ’’poor’’ India. Guess who needs money in this situation?? The fact that the student community in India has been able to sustain the high levels of fee in colleges comes from the fact that there is a parallel economic growth in most or all of the urban segments of the society.
Critics might find it tempting to point out my ommision of the rural India. I suggest patience.
Policies being pursued by the last 3-4 governments (1991-2004) have brought unexpected oppertunites to this country. New labs, industries, colleges, communites are being set-up. Initiaves that were unthinkable sometime back are being taken up. I wonder if a lot of people know about the fact that ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) is contributing 300 million Euros to the ESA’s (European Space Agency) initiative Galileo (equivalent to the american GPS System). This is not an isolated incident. An IMGB project is being taken up at Hydrabad, at a whopping 800 million $, similar to the IMGB project Florida project which has produced endless Olympic stars. Besides, the living standard in cities has drastically improved.
I cannot say anything about Delhi but places like Pune and other cities where I do have contacts are seeing rise in the per capita income, that has never been seen before. The Fedral Reserves are at a cool 108 Billion $ mark; Young graduates are settling down merrily in jobs like a cakewalk, some 33 companies have declared bonuses (after 5 years) and infrastructure development is taking place at a breathtaking pace.
Obviously this brings about an enormous change, with respect to a barrage of new oppertunities. In view of all the above, the one question that needs to be answered here is what promise does this hold for the indians residing abroad. My pov/review of the current situation would be with this in mind.
The main idea of drifting away from the mother land stems from the fact that people can earn higher salaries and enjoy better facilities abroad. People coming abroad (and I am mainly talking of the indian student community because I myself am a student) do this for better education and research facilities too.
Till sometime back those who came abroad had no intention of going back. Not so now. Graduates and young qualified indians are going back to join high-paid jobs and contribute in their own ways to the country’s development and their personal satisfaction of staying close to their relatives. A lot of my own friends are packing for ’’Indian Institute of Science’’ ignoring offers from universities like ’’Pennsylvania State University’’.
This is sure to benefit every sector. Starting from places like an airport to the smallest primary school, funds are piouring in thicker than before. However, measures still need to be taken towards improvement in the tourism sector, railways and loss-making PSU disinvestment. Contrary to a lot of reviews on this current topic which fear that the congress governemnt might end the country’s growth, I had like to remind them that this is an irreversible process. It could be slowed but not reversed.
Those who cannot settle in India owing to various professional reasons are taking up initiatives to be a part of this great rising. Our idea of helping our country is the following. We want to set-up a NGO(Non-governmental Organization) which reaches out to the needy in one city to start with(areas considered might be rural & urban).This might spread later. Teaches them the importance of educataion and the futility of the caste-system (i.e. if they believe in it). We have further plans to set-up some kind of an employment resource so that those who are lost owing to the deluge of information can use it for their well being. I know of a huge number of indians staying abroad who want to do something for their country. The only problem is how??
It is with this purpose as well that I am writing this review. This is not only supposed to be a report card of our country’s progress or well being. Rather its also supposed to be a question to all those who read this and share my same view regarding doing something for their country. We are looking for some innovative ideas regarding such a feature. Incase you do then make use of the comment option. I will be grateful incase you really care to suggest something that you think might be worth pursuing.
Its a pity that MS does not have a message board or a discussion forum. In principle my review is supposed to serve as a template for the idea I have above. We have already zeroed on a city. It could be either a city close to Allahabad (or this itself), someting close to Delhi, or soemthing close to Pune. Further inputs and measures can only take place after one gets going with a firm idea as to how one should proceed. And for this I hope I can hear something from some of you, which sets the ball rolling.
Thankyou for reading this review.