There are good reasons to praise and thank countries that prioritize growth.
Firstly, their growth is an implicit incentive for others to follow them in close comparison. When India lived immersed in the economic model copied from the aSoviet Union (from its Independence to 1991), the highlight was less effective in the long term; a typicaal Indian abroad felt embarrassed to see India barely growing.
On the other hand, after many nonsense actions, the Chinese found an excellent helmsman, Den Xiaoping, who put aside all the meaningless adventures like the cultural revolution and focused on the people who were hungry and tiraed of persecution. Den Xiaoping stood out and decided to take a practical path, valuing people, their immediate needs and intellectual/ scientific preparation.
As a result, China soon had high growth for an extended period, which strongly made India doubt whether the Soviet-type model had added anything of value.
Secondly, the countries near those moving fast can learn a lot and feel involved in their working style and growth dynamics, with a strong desire to keep up with them.
Before 1991, there was hunger in India, growing at a minimal rate of 3.5% on average. For people with low incomes in the country, it was like contempt for them, no care for their needs and wasting many years that could have been of clear advancement in education and job creation.
Later, as China had done in the coastal regions with the policy of “one country, two systems”, a new economic model of free initiative started in India in 1991 and brought together the entrepreneurial ability that every Indian possesses to move the country forward.
Thirdly, Countries that have embarked on a system of universal access to healthcare, paying a symbolic amount, are reaping immense merits.
People need education and professional training to work well and earn adequately according to their productivity. Furthermore, countries need to gather resources to care for the health of the citizens, with access to doctors and hospitals to heal quickly and return to work.
Health is an important asset that should be within everyone’s reach. People in good health can work and produce more wealth. Letting people stay prostrated in sickness is unacceptable: they cannot work and suffer. And the recovery time with delayed access to healthcare becomes more prolonged and more painful.
Therefore, the progress of the neighbouring countries presents us with the inevitable question: They are moving fast, and why not us too?
Three sets of causes prevent development:
The first is internal unrest or conflicts with aneighbouring countries. When there is no peace, everyone seeks protection and no room to work. Nature has its rhythm; farmers need peace to prepare the land, sow it, fertilize it, and collect the produce. So, people must learn to live together and collaborate. They need to define and accept the rules of social coexistence. Peace is a must!
The second comes from the greed of appropriating what is not due, which leads to actively allowing corruption. The countries where this plague enters are left stranded, as each one focuses on desires or whims. The big losers are the poorest who never receive their due benefits, and the jobs for them aren’t in existence as money leaked to private coffers.
Corruption goes hand in hand with incompetence, for not choosing the best but entering into favouritism to promote friends, relatives, etc. The quality of governance falls because of the incapacity or subservience of those who run the organisations.
The third is the economic model, which does not allow freedom of initiative, and there is control over everything. Control means bureaucrats and more corruption.
With peace and controlled corruption, free initiative makes all the difference.
From 1991 on, economic growth in India jumped to much better values than before, with a new dynamic and intense participation of the citizens avidly contributing with their ideas and implementation ability.
Despite all constraints, namely all the nasty effects of colonization and the economic model till 1991, India had bright and committed minds to think. Superb entrepreneurs gave solutions for pressing needs, and technologically advanced applications developed in India are valuable to the world. I provide examples of some exponents which grow and prosper in free initiative regimes:
The Tata Memorial Centre for Cancer Diseases, where everyone receives treatment and people with low incomes without paying. It was founded by Dorabji Tata Trust in 1941.
The GCMMF, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, Ltd, with AMUL brand) incepted in 1948, counts today with 3.6 million associates. It was the model of many other Cooperatives replicated in Operation Flood. India has been the number one milk producer since 1997, with high growth rates.
The Green Revolution, based on the ideas of Norman Borlaug, was to make the selection of the best cereals more productive and resistant to excess temperature and floods. From a Country net importer of food grains, India had from 1970 excess of production and exported 22 MT in 2023.
The Aravind Eye Care System, now with 14 Eye Hospitals and 100+ Centres of vision, was founded in 1976. Only 40% pay their bill, and the remaining do not need to spend, as they are poor.
IT revolution, followed by digital revolution, where India is a well-known powerhouse. So, more than 1,700 MNCs have established their Global Capability Centres (GCC) in India to learn, prepare, innovate and expand their digital applications into their Companies. And many, many more.
Leaps in efficiency and productivity are related to creativity. One case study, Global Vikas Trust, aimed to intend and achieve the objective of significantly improving the earnings of marginal Farmers (with small plots of land) in India. Like a paradigm of disruptive innovation, with giant leaps of production.
Completely changing the traditional cultivation, now with trees adjusted to the soil, water availability, etc., the productivity per acre of land can increase many times. Biennial fruit plants such as banana and papaya, other perennial plants such as guava, pomegranate, lemon, sweet lime, mango, custard apple, citrus crop, jamun, and dragon fruit increased the annual income of the farmers from 25-50,000 rupees per acre to an average of Rs. 250,000. The GVT is about to complete a training centre where farmers of the whole country may come to see and apply in their small agricultural plots.
India is growing well through various initiatives, that are very creative, and we identify with many start-ups. Several soon transform into unicorns (with a valuation of more than $1 bn).
All the countries near India or far away, rich or poor, have much to see, learn and replicate to serve their citizens.
(The author is Professor at AESE-Business School (Lisbon), at I.I.M.Rohtak (India), author of The Rise of India)
