The Numbers Then And Now

The Other India

• After 7 per cent plus growth in the mid-’90s, we seem to be stuck with 6 per cent.
• The rich have gone richer and it seems the poor have too. But regional inequalities have sharpened.
• Unless power, water, roads and other infrastructure improves, reforms may never touch most Indians.

Now : MTV and FTV have survived the culture police and prospered.
Then : The best that monopolistic Doordarshan offered was Chitrahaar.
Now : WAP-enabled cellphones have brought the world to our fingertips.
Then : Pre-Net, the telegram was the fastest way to get across.

Competition Success

• The price of a Maruti 800 reflects the success of the markets. Salaries quadrupled, yet the DX model
  only costs twice its ’91 level.
• The price line has held firm although the state has lost the battle for the fisc.
• India wants to raise FDI inflow by five times to $10 billion. It will still be far behind China’s $45 billion.

Now : Slick, cheap Chinese gizmos vie for a slice of the purse.
Then : C-grade, cheap local products swamped the bazaars.

• Forex Reserves $1 bn in ’91 $40 bn in ’01
• Short-Term Debt (% Of Forex Reserves) 14.6 in ’91 10.6 in ’01
• Current Account Deficit (% OF GDP) -3.1 in ’91 -0.9 in ’01

Now : Credit cards with global validity, payable in Indian rupees
Then : The FTS plan, where $500 was allotted a year by the RBI

Best And Brightest
Gujarat and Maharashtra grew at close to 10 per cent, beating South Asia.

Made In India
Competition will lead to true Indian brands, local and global.

• Industry grew by 12 per cent in 1995-96, its last great hurrah. Growth has slackened to 2.7 per cent this April.
• Contrary to popular belief, labour cost went up by $157 per year to $1,192 in the post-reform period.

Time For Social Renewal

• Female illiteracy is still an abysmal 56 per cent, compared to China’s 25.
• Employment in organised sector stays stagnant at 2.8 crore in fiscal ’99.
• Average life expectancy has slightly improved to 63 years.

• According to a member of the BJP think-tank, 7 lakh small units shut shop, 7,000 medium and large
  industrial units closed down and 10 million lost jobs in the past five years
• The Left says while savings are poor—25 per cent of the GDP—policy encourages uninhibited consumption

Many New Enigmas
Nine states, home to 60 per cent of our people, saw little per capita incomegrowth.

Overflowing Silos, Empty Stomachs

• The farm sector grew by 3.9 per cent in the pre-reform period. In fiscal 2000, it may drop to just 0.9 per cent.
• Food stocks have ballooned from 13 MT in ’91-92 to 42 MT. But many poor are now out of the PDS.