You are being very kind and you have made my day! I guess whatever you have said describes me fairly
accurately but I have changed my pursuits, roles, and perspectives from time to time, evolving from a lone ranger
to a team player, from an entrepreneur to a growth partner, from being merely an American citizen to a global
human being who wishes to bring more comfort and happiness within the reach of the world's multitude who
deserve better. I feel that this can be done through better management of resources for which investment in
infrastructure is called for and I feel that more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) funds should flow to some of the
more populous countries where such investment can remove the remaining bottlenecks, thereby speeding up
growth.
We are now moving into dangerous territory but you asked for it. Let us take the case of India. If you take the
GDP growth rates achieved by India in the last few years, Indians seem to feel very proud. But let us also look at
what was actually happening as well as what is needed and then how much is enough? No country exists in
isolation. If you take the case of China, they have been growing at a fantastic pace although they were nearly
isolated until 1978. But they discovered the need to invite foreign capital into their country to start and speed up
their growth engine, and if the relative growth rates remain what they are today, China will roar past all countries,
and they have long since left India far behind. We must look at the comparative performance or the dream of the
great Indian century may elude India!. |
