Intro: Beware, India is on its way to be a Great Power and nothing can stop it.
?Are we on the way to the Great Indian Renaissance? If we are, what shape will it take? And what would Indian society be like? Reading the day’s newspapers, one gets immense satisfaction that we are at last, on the move. Here onwards, I quote reports on new developments that are taking place and are likely to take place in the near future. *As top Ministers extol the government’s 100 day’s performance, a leading international risk-rating firm has told global investors in a confidential report that India is now the world’s best growth market bet, as risks of doing business in the country have declined with the Narendra Modi government having completed its QI (first quarter). Modi’s style of governance bodes well for investors who can expect policy clarity and less red tape. *After a short breather, sensex and Nifty scaled new peaks by scoring 293 points and 87 points respectively as overseas funds increased bets on growth optimism. *The stock markets haven’t had a losing month since January and for the year as a whole the bellweather benchmarks are up by more than a quarter. *Karnataka has become a preferred destination for Japanese investments. * India’s economy is likely to swell in absolute terms. It has shown signs of reviving after two successive years of below five per cent growth. *Mobile handset manufacturer Celkon is looking at setting up its first manufacturing facility in India. *Companies dealing in financial services in India are set to get a boost with Leapfrog Investments – a private equity company backed by J P Morgan – raising a new fund which is set to invest Rs 600 crore in the country. *The framework for NDA government’s stated goal of developing 100 smart cities will soon be finalised and the plan would allow plenty of opportunity for participation in the private sector. All the proposed 100 smart cities will be developed simultaneously. There will be a lot of job opportunities during the implementation of the Smart City Plan.
According to reports, the Tokyo Declaration, taking Indo-Japan relations to the next level – a special strategic global partnership – has sent “new dynamism” to close ties between the two nations. To put it in plain words, an entirely new India seems to be in the offing, the state of which it is difficult to formulate.
When Japan says it will give over USD 34 billion over the next five years under the Indo-Japan Investment Promotion Partnership it sounds like the beginning of vast changes in India, considering that the investment would include development of economic corridors, infrastructure, transport system and smart cities.
Japan, we also know, has also offered financial, technical and operational support to India for the Shinkansen System of bullet trains. Let this be said: If, in the course of the next decade, Indo-Japanese cooperation raises the standards of living in India, India will become a Super Power by 2020 as one commentator has already prophesied. There will be no one to challenge it.
The point to be noted is that India, China and Japan are Asian countires and if all three work together in a synchronised lifestyle, the 21st century will be the Asian Century, marginalising even the United States. Russia wouldn’t matter.
India will plainly be unrecognisable with progress in all forms of human activity whether it is in Arts, Theatre, Music, Dance, Drama, Literature and Technology. Already, it is claimed, five new IITs seem likely to start functioning from the next academic session, one each in Jammu, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Four new IIMs have also been announced. The Institute of Technology (IIT) Act is going to be suitably amended for including the new IITs under the law.
Meanwhile, to signal the likely educational scene, Nalanda University would have risen from its ashes. It is a sign of things to come. The NU campus will be spread over 455 acres and work on them is already started.
M V Kamath? (The writer is a senior journalist and former editor of Illustrated Weekly)
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