Tuesday, April 25, 2006

HOPE

Hope. The world lives on this word. It is a very powerful word. There is just so much pinned on this one word. I hope that one day I will be the richest person in the world. I hope that I will be famous. I hope I will find the love of my life. I hope I die peacefully.

Everyone has hope. But what is it that strengthens hope? What is it that justifies hope? You can’t just futilely hope for something without doing something about it. Like for example, if I hope to be rich, the least I should do is buy a lottery ticket and then continue hoping that I win it.

In this world nothing is free. Nothing comes easy. Everything has got a price tag on it. I am not just talking monetary value. I am also talking qualitative price. You pay the price and hope things work out fine for you. But without paying the price for something, don’t hope to get it.

Let me tell you a story. A story of a nation. A nation known for its varied culture. Its rich history. A nation called India. This country epitomizes the word ‘Hope’.

With a population of over 1 billion, where close to 30% is below the poverty line, large scale unemployment, a per capita income of $600, a fiscal deficit pegged at 4% of GDP, deplorable infrastructure in more than 50% of its land, by and large inept and corrupt politicians and most citizens with a ‘care a damn’ attitude, this country still hopes to make it as a super power.

So what is it that drives this nation? What is it that makes people hope that they will be a super power one day? Like I said earlier, what is this country doing to become a super power. IF it is doing something, are the doing enough of that something? Blind hope leads nowhere.

I gather they are doing the following.

- They have liberalized economic policies. Industries have opened up and large MNC’s have started flocking India, understanding the potential this country has. This is reflected from the contribution of the service industry to the GDP, which is over 50%. This move has helped us to reduce our dependence on agriculture (30% of GDP) and if not to a large extent, at least, to a small extent curbed unemployment.

- They are looking to privatize hard core government sectors. (That it has found so much resistance is another matter altogether!)

- They have empowered rural India, by introducing schemes like PURA (Providing Urban amenities in Rural Areas), which is to be implemented in 4130 rural clusters across the country in the next 5 years. The program aims to provide road, transport, power, telecom, e-commerce, education and market connectivity to the rural areas. We have to wait and watch how successfully this is implemented.

- At the same time they have ensured that urban India equals the development of developed nations. The metro cities have been developed at a pace never before seen. Success stories include Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Gurgoan (outskirts of Delhi) to name a few.

Now when you check the pros vs. the cons the odds may seem even, give or take a few. This country has an equal share of pluses and minuses. So what keeps this nation going?

We come back to that one word. Hope. That is what is going to make this country a super power. People’s hope. Hope in the system, hope in the nation, hope on each other that one day we will all awaken to a developed India.

Are we doing enough to support this hope? Time will tell…

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Godd One - Ahead of Fathers thinkings.

Guitarman said...

Vinay,
You article is full of 'hope'! Well, we certainly hope (& pray !) to the Lord of the seven Hills that India will make it. Thanks for your note on my post.

SidZ said...

Dai very well written and good research...but correct me if I am wrong...those who loose 'HOPE' are enamoured by niceties the other countries have to offer and leave India to settle abroad :)))...they are not willing to wait…