Jul 30 2014 : The Economic Times (Delhi)
INDIA at Crossroads
NAMRATA KOHL
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For economic growth and fast pace of development, India urgently needs to work on certain key areas like infrastructure, healthcare, energy issues and education system
The world is bullish about the India growth story. The country's population and its unharnessed potential have held promise for investors and multinational companies around the world. However, so far the inadequate physical infrastructure and delay in decision making have been the primary reasons for slow growth.After all, economic boom cannot be built on shaky foundation of a creaky infrastructure; it needs to be built on the rock solid foundation of sound physical and social infrastructure. Everything from power to roads, highways, ports to healthcare and education system needs to be improved upon, in both qualitative as well as quantitative terms. At the moment, even the basic needs of water, electricity, and housing are not adequate enough.
Take the case of electricity. The year marked a dark patch in the history of the Indian power sector, as one of the biggest blackouts hit the country's capital -Delhiites had to contend with long duration of power cut past two months,
suffering hours of darkness.
Another important sector that needs an overhaul is the country's healthcare infrastructure. There is a need to enhance and expand India's healthcare infrastructure to meet the needs of a growing population.
Changing demographics, disease profiles and the shift from chronic to lifestyle diseases in the country has led to increased spending on healthcare delivery. High quality products are sought after in the sector.
The biggest failure of the Indian state is seen to be its inability to meet basic human needs, partly due
to the scale of the challenges in health care and education infrastructure. India's literacy rate is only 74 per cent and only one out of five people in the country has access to basic sanitation. Even more grave is the figure of underweight children under five years old in India. It is 42 per cent, the second-highest in the world. Today, India stands at the threshold of one of its biggest transformations scaling up healthcare and education using readily available technology and frugal innovation.
In addition to that, infrastructure is also one of the core challenges in the country, impacting on the overall situation. Highways, modern bridges, world-class airports, reliable power, and clean water are in desperately short supply. And what's already there is literally crumbling under the weight of large-scale migration from villages to cities. A typical scenario is that of people migrating from smaller cities, towns and villages to the metro cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad in search of employment opportunities. The economic activity has been concentrated in the key metros of the country and small cities lack adequate infrastructure and scope for employment. The result is that the metro cities become overpopulated, polluted, filthy, with shortage of all amenities of water, housing, power and become nearly uninhabitable for the original citizens. The country has been facing basic social issues for decades, which is hampering the overall growth of the nation in spite of having great potential. What and who will solve India's problems?
Take the case of electricity. The year marked a dark patch in the history of the Indian power sector, as one of the biggest blackouts hit the country's capital -Delhiites had to contend with long duration of power cut past two months,
suffering hours of darkness.
Another important sector that needs an overhaul is the country's healthcare infrastructure. There is a need to enhance and expand India's healthcare infrastructure to meet the needs of a growing population.
Changing demographics, disease profiles and the shift from chronic to lifestyle diseases in the country has led to increased spending on healthcare delivery. High quality products are sought after in the sector.
The biggest failure of the Indian state is seen to be its inability to meet basic human needs, partly due
to the scale of the challenges in health care and education infrastructure. India's literacy rate is only 74 per cent and only one out of five people in the country has access to basic sanitation. Even more grave is the figure of underweight children under five years old in India. It is 42 per cent, the second-highest in the world. Today, India stands at the threshold of one of its biggest transformations scaling up healthcare and education using readily available technology and frugal innovation.
In addition to that, infrastructure is also one of the core challenges in the country, impacting on the overall situation. Highways, modern bridges, world-class airports, reliable power, and clean water are in desperately short supply. And what's already there is literally crumbling under the weight of large-scale migration from villages to cities. A typical scenario is that of people migrating from smaller cities, towns and villages to the metro cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad in search of employment opportunities. The economic activity has been concentrated in the key metros of the country and small cities lack adequate infrastructure and scope for employment. The result is that the metro cities become overpopulated, polluted, filthy, with shortage of all amenities of water, housing, power and become nearly uninhabitable for the original citizens. The country has been facing basic social issues for decades, which is hampering the overall growth of the nation in spite of having great potential. What and who will solve India's problems?
