By: Gaurav Moghe
gauravdmoghe@roltanet.com
October 15, 2003

For almost 55 years now, we have been waiting for this moment. When almost every Indian would be able to stand up, face the world and proudly say,” Yes! I am an Indian!” The moment has dawned, with a newfound confidence, a unique sense of identity, and an irrepressible urge to zoom into the era of change…

Almost every sector of the economy is looking good. Steel and Cement enterprises are booming. The Auto sector is unleashing its potential in the international BPO scene. The Information Technology sector, fuelled by giants like TCS, Infosys, Wipro, i-flex etc., is in a very good shape. Same is the case with the telecom sector. Mobile penetration in India has increased several folds in the past couple of years, with almost every player in telecom business, from state owned BSNL to the multinational Hutch, from Reliance to the Tatas claiming of over a million subscribers.

Same is the case with the Services sector. Many new jobs have been created in the past couple of years owing to the boom in the number of call-centers, especially around the thriving metropolises. The average spending per person has increased due to a virtual increase in the per capita income.

Good monsoons have further fuelled the economy, which in this year, has been projected to grow at 6.0%. The economy in the first quarter of the financial year, has shown an impressive rise of 5.7%, due to strong performance by the industry and the services sectors. The Rupee is at its 3 year high against the dollar at 45.40, and is still getting stronger with every passing day. The Sensex is also at its 3 year high, and has scorched the psychological 4500 mark, in what is being touted as the “Dream-Run of the Sensex” since the markets came crashing 4 years ago, after the Infotech bubble burst. The Forex Reserves of the country are at an all-time high of $89.3 billion.

What else needs to be said?? I-flex technologies has emerged as the largest banking software provider in the entire world. NIIT has become one of the largest computer education centers in the world. Bharat Forge is stealthily gobbling up a huge share of all the steel exports to China. ICICI Bank is spreading its operations all around the globe. Infosys and ONGC have already figured in the Fortune 500. Pharma giant Ranbaxy, employing over 6000 people worldwide is also making waves in the international drug market. Mahindra and Mahindra USA (MUSA) is setting up a glorious tractor business in that uncharted part of the world, for the Indian automobile Industry. It has embarked on a mission to “generate” rather than “outsource” cheaply. And the dream run does not end here. Even the Khadi and Village Industries, ever promoted by the Swadeshi lobby (read, the Sangh Parivar) has overtaken the international giant Hindustan Lever in the total turnover in the last fiscal by almost 250 crores.

It is all this new found confidence that is making management gurus like Arindam Chaudhary writes about the Great Indian Dream, and an achievable growth rate of 14%. It is this new vigor that is making India a force that simply cannot be ignored anymore, at international conferences like Cancun. It is this power, the glory of these successes that has almost changed the image of India, from being the “Land of Snake Charmers” and underdeveloped, to one that is actually “developing”.

And the international community has also not remained unaffected by this zing. Indians abroad are now turning up at the Dandiya fests and other occasions with increased vigour. With this growing perception of power, no wonder ex-Indians like Bobby Jindal get an early push in the governor race. No wonder Narendra Modi’s address in England is listened to by a 1000 strong crowd. No wonder.

The Cancun WTO conference showcased a valiant display of diplomatic offensiveness by the Indian team under the leadership of Arun Jaitley. Other offensives being carried out by the Indian Army over the past few months in the strife-ridden valley were also looked at by the world carefully. Operation Sarp Vinash, touted as the largest peace-time operations by the Indian Army till date, helped in eliminating over 100 terrorists in just a period of 4 months. Till date, about 135 terrorists have been killed since the beginning of 2003, with the loss of 17 defence personnel. Crucial modules in the valley have been busted, the most important, the jewel-in-the-crown being the encounter of Jaish commander Gazi Baba last month.

What is not showing progress? Infant mortality rates have come down, literacy rates have increased, population growth rate has come down, though not drastically, 3 new states have been carved for better governance, the tension in the North East is in a “no-serious-threat” zone, as against the NSCN agitations 5 years back, technology like cloud-seeding is being used to bring in rains in parched areas, Internet penetration has increased, educational institutes are working towards becoming world-class, the government is working towards generating more AIIMS and IIT’s, the dream of the Golden Corridor is being realized, the initial steps in the super-ambitious 5,60,000 crore River Linking Project have been taken, Disinvestment is showing a good revenue generation, India is transitioning from a loan taker to a loan-giver, we are returning some of our debts before time and so on and on and on. Almost everything is changing in this country for good…

On the politics side, it is of immense significance to note that a “circus government” of over 20 political parties, led by BJP has successfully neared its term at the Center. And at the same time, managed to pull the country through a global economic meltdown, the fear-psychosis over China, the Kargil war of 1999, post 9/11 scenario, attack on the Parliament, and a spate of mud-throwing on the government itself. The system of coalition politics, which was thought to be impossible under the given circumstances in India, has managed to put the country on a steady path to progress.

Elections come in 2004. The nation has been shown a great dream, a dream of what we can be by 2020. Let’s hope that this dream is not gutted down in the unholy stench of political chutzpah.

Gaurav Moghe