When India’s economy slowed sharply in the first quarter of 2017, many believed that Narendra Modi’s currency ban of the previous year was one of the main causes. Saurabh Mukherjea, chief executive officer at Ambit Capital, summarized how the market reacted by saying: “Demonetization was the economic equivalent of a heart attack… The economy had a mild headache and we are now over it.”
India remains the fastest-growing major economy in the world despite the shock of demonetization, the strengthening of oil prices and a range of uncertainties at home and abroad.
Joining an extensive list of books on India, “Turn of the Tortoise: The Challenge and Promise of India’s Future” gives us a commanding view of the intricacies of the Indian economy. The author, T. N. Ninan, is the chairman of Business Standard, India’s second-largest business daily, and one of India’s most respected economic editors.
Ninan tackles the issue of India’s size and sets the record straight. India’s size only tells one side of the story. Even in the 1870s, when India was bigger than Britain, it suffered from a conspicuous absence of development and lacked industrial and technological capabilities.
Today, having gained its independence, India wants a place in the sun. During the 2008 financial crisis, India was the 12th largest economy in the world and it jumped up to seventh place in 2015, overtaking Spain, Canada and Italy.
India has maintained an annual GDP growth of seven percent or more for 25 years and this is beginning to pay off. Just like “The Hare and the Tortoise,” the famous fable by Jean de La Fontaine, India seems to be winning the race in slow and steady fashion. India, which was seen as a tortoise because of its slower growth, is catching up fast with hares such as China, Vietnam and Malaysia. These Asian giants have seen their economies weaken as they reached a certain level of production and prosperity. Within the next five years, India is poised to be the third-largest contributor to world growth after China and the US.
The author focuses on the poor standards of governance that make India a difficult place to do business. Ninan quotes a chief executive of one of America’s largest companies whose comment helps us understand what works and what does not in India. He noticed that his company had succeeded every time it bet on the Indian people, less so but with good success when it bet on the Indian market and least of all when it bet on Indian policymaking and policymakers.
India’s economic success is largely due to the presence of educated manpower, which has provided quality engineers, lawyers, accountants, managers and call center staff for international companies. However, none of this could have been possible without the input of exceptional businessmen who are listed on the Fortune 500 list. They have changed the game and have taken Indian entrepreneurship to the next level.
Indian policymakers have tried hard to revive the country’s manufacturing sector. Modi, in particular, showed strong resolve when he created the “Made in India” initiative to achieve that goal. India, however, is still seen as a difficult country to set up a business in and the government is planning to reduce paperwork and digitalize the whole process in a bid to counter that. However, even if such measures are implemented, India is still home to a poor infrastructure, its workers are not as productive as the Chinese and dealing with the authorities is seen as a trying experience, according to the book.
This book’s main argument is that India should not copy China and compete solely on the strength of lower wages. “Rather than studying China, which has led to failed copycat experiments like special economic zones, it should be more fruitful to study India (and) how to change its operating environment, then look at what kind of manufacturing has worked in this country and what has not. Following from that, a strategy can (be planned) to back the horses that can run, not the donkeys that can’t,” Ninan wrote.
Wages and workers
Many studies highlight the notion that Indian workers are not as productive as their counterparts in China or Korea. Ninan gives us the example of Dilip Kapur, the founder of a successful leather products company whose workers could not produce more than nine handbags per day versus 12 per day in a Chinese factory.
Successful manufacturing plants should not only be based on cost and productivity as they also require other factors, such as the availability of raw materials or a large home market.
India, according to Ninan, must not focus solely on intensive manufacturing. It has an abundant, qualified and well-educated labor force that can work in very specialized sectors such as spatial research, software services and in the pharmaceutical industry where it has been remarkably successful in producing generic drugs. For all these reasons, an increasing number of international companies are establishing key research and development centers in India.
The author also reminds readers of the untapped potential wealth of Indian agriculture. Farming productivity can be substantially increased through crop diversification into higher-value products such as fruit and vegetables and making use of better technology and farming practices. “The truth is that India can hugely increase the productivity levels on its farms, continue to comfortably feed itself, become an export powerhouse if it wishes to and, in the process, raise both employment and income levels substantially in the rural areas while also freeing land for non-agricultural use,” Ninan wrote.
Some parts of rural India are changing fast. Land prices are going up and a number of farmers have become rich by selling their land to real estate developers. However, farming remains difficult in other parts of the country and despite a rise in agricultural growth, the yield per hectare of many crops is only half of what it is in other countries.
While some laborers increase the ranks of a destitute rural proletariat, others decide to move into cities where they live in slums. Life in slums is not what it used to be and the way of life has changed drastically. Half of the homes in slums have tap water while access to electricity and cooking gas is near universal, according to the book.
Although change is needed, India is firmly on course to be the world’s second-largest economy, behind China, by 2040. One has to keep in mind that half of the Indian population is under the age of 28, providing a fast-expanding, educated and English-speaking workforce. If the economy continues to grow at an annual rate of seven percent over the next decade, it is expected that by 2025 up to 700 million Indians will be part of the middle class.
Despite internal tensions and conflicts, Ninan confidently concludes that “the reassuring facts in a broadly hopeful scenario are that the directions are overwhelmingly positive and that the system, as a whole, has a bedrock of stability that is not affected by the surface turmoil.”
Book Review: Does slow and steady win the race in India?
Book Review: Does slow and steady win the race in India?
What We Are Reading Today: Henry V by Dan Jones
In 1413, when Henry V ascended to the English throne, his kingdom was hopelessly torn apart by political faction but in less than ten years, he turns it all around. By common consensus in his day, and for hundreds of years afterward, Henry was the greatest medieval king that ever lived.
A historical titan, Henry V transcends the Middle Ages which produced him, and his life story has much to teach us today.
What We Are Reading Today: ‘Following the Bend’ by Ellen Wohl
When we look at a river, either up close or while flying over a river valley, what are we really seeing?
“Following the Bend” takes readers on a majestic journey by water to find answers, along the way shedding light on the key concepts of modern river science, from hydrology and water chemistry to stream and wetland ecology.
In this accessible and uniquely personal book, Ellen Wohl explains how to “read” a river, blending the latest science with her own personal experiences as a geologist and naturalist who has worked on rivers for more than three decades.
UK writer Samantha Harvey wins 2024 Booker with space novel
- The prize is seen as a talent spotter of names not necessarily widely known to the general public
LONDON: British writer Samantha Harvey on Tuesday won the 2024 Booker Prize, a prestigious English-language literary award, for her novel tracking six astronauts in space for 24 hours.
Harvey’s “Orbital” follows two men and four women from Japan, Russia, the United States, Britain and Italy aboard the International Space Station and touches on mourning, desire and the climate crisis.
The 49-year-old Harvey previously made the longlist for the Booker Prize in 2009 with her debut novel “The Wilderness.”
Harvey dedicated the prize to “all the people who speak for and not against the earth and work for and not against peace.”
Chair of the judges, Edmund de Waal, said “everyone and no one is the subject” of the novel, “as six astronauts in the International Space Station circle the earth observing the passages of weather across the fragility of borders and time zones.”
“With her language of lyricism and acuity Harvey makes our world strange and new for us.”
A record five women were in the running for the £50,000 ($64,500) prize which was announced at a glitzy ceremony in London.
Previous winners include Salman Rushdie and Margaret Atwood.
The prize is seen as a talent spotter of names not necessarily widely known to the general public.
The Booker is open to works of fiction by writers of any nationality, written in English and published in the UK or Ireland between October 1, 2023 and September 30, 2024.
What We Are Reading Today: ‘Dragonflies and Damselflies of the World’ by Klass-Douwe B. Dijkstra
Airily dancing over rivers and ponds, the thousands of colorful dragonfly and damselfly species that cohabit our planet may seem of little importance.
Few life-forms, however, convey the condition of the most limiting resource on land and life’s most bountiful environment as well as they can: While the adults are exceptional aerial hunters, their nymphs are all confined to freshwater.
“Dragonflies and Damselflies of the World” showcases their beauty and diversity while shedding light on how they evolved into the vital symbols of planetary health we celebrate today.
Emirates Airline Festival of Literature announces 2025 lineup
DUBAI: The Emirates Literature Foundation has revealed the speaker lineup and programme details for the upcoming Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2025, officially marking the countdown to the 17th edition of the event. Set to take place from Jan. 29 to Feb. 3, 2025 at the newly renovated InterContinental Dubai Festival City, the LitFest will offer attendees over 150 incomparable experiences, including fan-favourites: Desert Stanzas, LitFest After Hours, Discovery Talks, and the LitFest Families programme.
Leading the list of authors is US-Indian writer and Stanford University professor Abraham Verghese, author of “The Covenant of Water,” which rose to fame when it was chosen for Oprah Winfrey’s book club.
Other anticipated names include Emmy Award-winning journalist Hala Gorani, the best-selling author and illustrator of the wildly popular “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series Jeff Kinney, multi-talented author and screenwriter Daniel Handler (also known as Lemony Snicket, creator of “A Series of Unfortunate Events”), Booker Prize-nominated author Chigozie Obioma, best-selling travel writer and author Dr Mohamed Mansi Qandil, scholar and researcher Abdel Illah Benarafa, Cultural Personality of the Year Waciny Laredj, poet and author Khalid Albudoor, and celebrated Palestinian chef and cookbook author Fadi Kattan.
Closer to home, Saudi author Faisal J. Abbas will talk about his new book, “Anecdotes of an Arab Anglophile,” a witty and thoughtful take on what it is like being an Arab in London.
“As we navigate a world of uncertainty and change, the Emirates LitFest serves as a vital platform for dialogue, understanding, and reflection,” said Ahlam Bolooki, CEO of Emirates Literature Foundation, Director of Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, and Managing Director of ELF Publishing.
“Global conversations around identity and culture have never been more crucial, and we are honoured to welcome literary icons from across the globe whose works speak to the heart of these issues. Through our Festival’s dynamic programme, sessions that are set to inspire future generations and events that celebrate our shared experiences, we are building a community based on empathy and understanding. Now, more than ever, we need stories that connect us to our shared humanity, and the Emirates LitFest is where those stories happen” she added.
Dubai Culture is sponsoring this year’s Emirati Strand, which celebrates the culture of the UAE and provides an opportunity for Emirati and international authors to grace the Emirates LitFest stage together. The Emirati Strand features a diverse range of experiences and a distinguished line-up of Emirati writers including poet Adel Khozam, Dr Noura Alkarbi, artist Asmaa Al-Remithi, poet Ali Al-Shaali, author and scholar Salha Ghabish, author and trainer Hamdan Bin Shfayan Alameri, author Nadia Al Najjar, filmmaker Nahla Al Fahad, and many more.
“With everything going on in the world, now more than ever, we need stories. We need human connection. We need to come together in the ‘sanctuary of dreams’ … which the festival offers,” Tamreez Inam, head of programming, told Arab News.
“The festival welcomes people who want to dream and imagine a world that celebrates our shared humanity and offers a place where people can tell their own stories, find themselves in other stories and connect at that very human level. And I think that’s why the 2025 festival is so important; it’s needed more than ever now,” she added.
Dania Droubi, the festival’s chief operating officer, revealed that the event will also host an international youth program.
“We have 150 university students from around the world coming to participate in our program, and they are going to be here in Dubai,” she said.
“They’re all students who speak Arabic and who study Arabic. They are going to be here to meet with another 150 from the UAE-based universities, and they’re here to attend and see the authors and the speakers … and just participate in these discussions, because the youth are the future.”
For information on the full programme and tickets, visit https://emirateslitfest.com.