Economics: New Drivers |
Developing Countries Set to Drive Global Economic Growth: As globalization accelerates, developing countries are expected to grow more than twice as fast as high-income countries. However, unless managed carefully, the process of globalization could be accompanied by growing income inequality and potentially severe environmental pressures. Continuing integration of markets, expanding trade, and the rapid diffusion of technologies to developing countries will lead to increasing competition across borders. Improving education and labor market flexibility is a key part of the long-term solution. In India, slower investment growth in response to tighter financial conditions and weaker consumer and government consumption are expected to contribute to a moderation of GDP growth to about 7.2% over 2008.
Read more in: Global Economic Prospects 2007: Managing the Next Wave of Globalization |
Policies India Adopts Today Will Shape the World of Tomorrow: A fifth of all those born between now and 2030 will be Indian. Much of what India does now - policies it adopts, the rapidity with which its factories employ workers and produce goods, and its schools educate its children - will decide what the country and the world will look like in 2030.
Read more in India: Today's Policies Decide the India of 2030 |
| Business: Leading in a Connected World |
New Economic Opportunities Open Up as Power Shifts to Emerging Economies: India and other countries of the South stand to gain substantially by seizing these newly emerging opportunities among themselves, especially if openings for trade and investment with the North continue to be limited as they have been so far.
Read more in Africa's Silk Road: China and India's New Economic Frontier |
Trade Between India and Bangladesh has Grown Rapidly since the 1990s: Within South Asia, India and Bangladesh have long shared common objectives for closer economic integration. Trade between the two countries has grown rapidly since the early 1990s. Over 15% of Bangladeshi imports come from India, and Bangladesh has a large trade deficit with its neighbor. However, illegal trade between the two countries amounts to 3/4 of regular trade. For both country, a broader-based liberalization would be more beneficial rather than a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Read more in India-Bangladesh Trade, Trade Policies and Potential Free Trade Agreement |
Public-Private Partnerships: The New Mantra. As governments turn to the private sector to provide services once delivered by the public sector, they must learn new skills. They need the capacity to design projects with a package of risks and incentives that makes them attractive to the private sector.
Read more in Public Private Partnership Units: What They Are and What They Do? |
How Easy Is It to Do Business in India? How does India compare with other economies in the world on the ease of doing business? While it is the leading reformer in South Asia, it is ranked 134th and is 41 places behind China, which is reforming faster.
Read more in Doing Business 2006 |
| Managing India's Youthful Tide |
South Asia's Demographic "Window of Opportunity": 1.3 billion young people now live in the developing world-the largest youth group in history. There has never been a better time to invest in youth because they are healthier and better educated than previous generations, and they will join the workforce with fewer dependents because of changing demographics. This demographic shift is both an opportunity and a challenge in South Asia as it lags behind in key areas such as literacy and maternal health.
Read more in World Development Report 2007: Development and the Next Generation |
Reducing Poverty by Shining India's Light on all Citizens: India stands at a defining moment in its history. Thanks to spectacular economic growth, it now has the opportunity to wipe out poverty within the next generation. Few developing countries have achieved this, but India's dramatic progress against poverty over the past decade gives cause for optimism.
Read more in Analysis by Praful Patel, Vice President, South Asia Region |
Harnessing India's Demographic Dividend: Despite India's spectacular recent growth, the country won't be able to capitalize in the long term on its demographic dividend unless the benefits of growth are spread more widely and the delivery of core public services is improved.
Read more in India Development Policy Review: Inclusive Growth and Service Delivery, Building on India's Success |
All India's Children Need to be Healthy and Educated: India has nearly twice the number of underweight children than Sub-Saharan Africa. Malnutrition in India is concentrated in 5 states.
Read more in India's Undernourished Children: A Call for Reform and Action |
| The City: Managing Rapid Urbanization in Developing Economies |
Less than 1/3 of Indians live in urban areas, but they generate over 2/3 of the GDP. A quarter of India's urban residents are poor. Three of the world's 21 mega-cities are in India: Mumbai (19 million), Delhi (15 million), and Kolkata (14 million). However, critical shortages of urban infrastructure and services in these and other towns and cities are constraining the country's economic potential and becoming a serious bottleneck for continued economic growth: |
Investing in Transport Infrastructure: While demand for transport infrastructure and services has risen by 10% a year due to growth, the sector hasn't been able to keep pace and is proving to be a drag on the economy. Major improvements are required.
Read more in India's Transport |
Energy Shortages are Hindering Development: Severe energy shortages are seriously hindering India's development. Yet, only 30% of the country's hydropower potential has been harnessed so far. When developed in accordance with good environmental and social practices, hydropower plants produce renewable and clean energy.
Read more in India's Hydropower |
| Empowering Individuals |
Community Networks Benefit the Underprivileged in Some Regions: Women's Self Help Groups (SHGs) are empowering downtrodden women, giving them a voice, and helping them to improve their lives and those of their children. Women's SHGs in Andhra Pradesh are among the most successful in the world.
Read more in How Poor Women are Spearheading Change in Rural Andhra Pradesh |
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