It was the year of the even greater stock market boom…that ended in an almighty crash
It was another year of suicides by cotton farmers…but both cotton production and prices soared
It was the year when the corporate mood changed for the worse…but investment grew
Look back on: A YEAR OF PARADOXES
It was a year of mega-projects, in Orissa and West Bengal, in Chattisgarh and Jharkhand…but many of them provoked mass protest
It was a year of mega-deals around the world…but the biggest headlines were for a tiny car back home
Agricultural growth beat all targets at 4.5 per cent…but farmers got the mother of all loan waivers
The fiscal deficit dropped to 2.8 per cent…but oil and fertilizers subsidies doubled that number
Welcome to The LAND OF PARADOXES
Home owning dreams faded for many…but house prices remained sky-high
Interest rates zoomed…but credit still grew 22 per cent
The trade deficit ballooned…still, the rupee gained against the dollar
Global oil prices doubled…while India’s remained unchanged through 2007-08
Can we understand This ECONOMY OF PARADOXES?
Millions prospered with 5 years of record growth…but the government talked of the poor
The UPA’s populism reached new heights…but it lost election after election
The Congress got a new general secretary…but it continued losing
All reforms were stopped…but it did not bring back the voter
How do we understand The PARADOX OF OUR POLITICS?
“The peoples’ govt” in Bengal also saw the biggest protests by “the people” – in Singur and Nandigram
The aam aadmi government has mostly benefited the amir aadmi, as the stock market has soared
The aam aadmi government has also abolished the only tax that focuses on the wealthy – the capital gains tax
And so we continue to see POLITICAL PARADOXES
Airlines merged, and expanded and spread their wings globally…but lost record sums of money
New car projects were announced by Renault and Nissan, Audi and BMW…but car sales were flat
TV sets and phone calls became cheaper…but consumer wallets remained hidden
Salary increases were handsome…but the consumer mood had dipped
It was a year for coming to grips with PARADOXICAL CONSUMERS
Banks charged more for lending money…but their share prices fell
Rents went through the roof…but construction slowed down
Sugar production soared…but cane growers were in distress
Gold prices soared…while gold imports collapsed
What is our understanding of these PARADOXES?
The ultimate paradox is that everything you say about India is true…and its opposite is also true
So India now has more dollar billionaires than Japan…and also more poor people than Japan (or any other country)
A million people rise above the poverty line every year…but 75% still live on less than two dollars a day
The world’s most expensive residence is being built in Mumbai…where more than half the city lives in slums
When will we end the PARADOXES OF WEALTH AND POVERTY?
More than half our GDP is from services…but more than half our people work in agriculture
The world toasts our education system, our IITs and IIMs…but we have more illiterate people than any other country
The world loves our textiles…but our weavers struggle to make a living
We talk of medical tourism, and catering to sick people flown in from the West…but our own people mostly do without health care
When will we end the PARADOXES OF SUCCESS AND FAILURE?
Our airlines are taking off…but the airline companies are crashing to the ground
We look for inbound FDI…but the success story is outbound FDI
We import 70 per cent of our oil…but Jamnagar is the oil refining capital of the world
We have more business newspapers and business TV channels than any other country…but the economic debate is stuck in old idioms
Can we even understand the PARADOX OF OUR PARADOXES?
And yet…
India powers ahead because
We celebrate our many diversities
We cherish the open system that acknowledges our shortcomings instead of hiding them
We value the freedom that allows people to chart their own futures
And we cheer the success stories even as we don’t forget our failures
That is why we are the world’s second fastest growing economy
Why the world’s most complex country is also a successful democracy
Why India and Bharat are becoming less separate and more together
So that we can finally END THE PARADOXES
And all celebrate together