There is a lot of hype about India becoming a knowledge economy, global workshop, economic superpower, third largest economy by 2030 etc.,. My observations are : 1) Whatever international attention we got (rightly or wrongly) was mainly due to success in IT sector. 2) Our politicians (who hv done little or nothing towards this success) started capitalising on this international attention and play upon it for votes 3) We forget that IT sector success cannot be sustained unless : a) we improve infrastructure like roads, bridges,ports etc., (just see the pathetic condition of roads especially during rainy season in almost all cities including big cities like Mumbai , Bangalore or Chennai) b)train the people to have the right skills on massive scale for meeting the ambitious targets for BPO/KPO c) keep away from TRADE UNIONS (remember the bid from COMMUNISTS to pump in TRADE UNIONS) d) keep jealous politicians like DEVE GOWDA from criticising the succesful IT greats like Narayanamurthy. 4)There is no concentration on Key sector : Agriculture. & Village economy.This could result in discord between Rural & urban population and can even result in civil war
RE:Why India can't be a knowledge economy
by Ravikant on Nov 13, 2006 09:55 AM Permalink
India can't be a knowledge economy when it is content with doing BPO/ KPO work for other countries. So long as we Indians don't use the knowledge ourselves, for our own betterment, we would merely be Knowledge Coolies ( carrying the "Knowledge Headload" for others).The real power to use the knowledge will continue to remain with the developed countries with India being none the wiser. What we need is relevent and useful research that will stamp our own originality and will be useful for the betterment of our millions of people who are out of the economic system due to poor purchasing power. We cannot avoid politicians and the govt to provide legitimacy to peoples initiatives for the betterment of the society.The less said in this area the better. All this talk of transforming India into a " superpower", "economic powerhouse", etc is all baloney and hot air. The really prosperous countries continue to do their business and prosper while we talk and daydream.
