THE GLOBE HAS TILTED. INDIA COULD SHAPE THE ECONOMIC AGENDA

INDIA HAS UNDERPERFORMED its potentials. But at 75 it is finally exhibiting some characteristics of a developed economy. Better days are ahead.

- Vikas Singh

The West is embracing the world’s fifth largest, pertinently wooing a ‘high growth’ economy, that has paved a long runway for itself. India’s prominence has also been aided by the West’s disenchantment with China. The USA now sees China as a competitor, not a collaborator. The other western economies are threatened by China’s political ambitions. They are prioritising political stability over trade. Europe will have significant spill-over effects, but the underlying structural factors run even deeper. The ripple effect is beginning to be felt across the world and is reminiscent of what happened to Japan in the 1990s.

A Salesman and a Statesman. PM Modi Wears Two Hats. Both Fit Well: The government has walked well and firmly, and is on the right path, leading the narrative on several forums. A seasoned diplomat is fronting India’s increasingly assertive foreign policies. It’s often antagonistic to China, but equally opposed to the concept of a US-led global order. A India that is politically stable and growing has manoeuvring space on most high tables. Most nations see India as a better alternative to China. On the commerce front, the country has laid out favourable tariff and concessions to woo industry, conceding the battle to win the war. India’s large and thriving consuming class may even be a bigger magnet. The West sees India as a big and growing market, some come to sell, the others are negotiating terms to bring in capital and invest for the long haul.