Over the last one year, India has received favourable
global attention as an attractive emerging market, potential world-class
manufacturing hub and likely global economic powerhouse. Despite certain missed
expectations on big-bang reforms, global investors continue to retain faith in
the India story. Prime Minster Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ theme and the
initiatives by various States to unveil new industrial policies and promote
ease of doing business have contributed to a new air of expectation. While an
uncertain monsoon, large debt levels and poor corporate earnings have recently
taken a toll on the Indian stock markets (making India the worst performing emerging
market this year) there is no panic yet. There is, on the other hand, optimism
that India would clock a higher growth rate of 7.5 percent in 2015-16,
psychologically boosted by the fact that India has crossed China in GDP growth
rate the past quarter.
Being on an economic roller-coaster is not new to
India. The amplitude of travel has been, however, increasing due to increasing
global linkages. Various sectors that are linked to global trends (oil and gas,
metals and minerals, shipping and construction, for example) besides debt
dependent, rate sensitive and monsoon sensitive sectors (infrastructure, banks,
FMCG) are particularly impacted. National economic policy must take care of the
short term pressures and announce policy prescriptions that are creative and
serve as “instant motivators”. The new Telangana Industrial Policy, for
example, made a creative commitment on Right to Clearance of entrepreneurs and
industrialists applying for setting up industries. Policies certainly would not
only improve investor sentiment but also lay solid pathways to industrial
progress. Given India’s industrial maturity thus far and developmental
imperatives for the future, this blog post provides a new paradigm of National
Icons as a reinforcing concept.
National
icons
Icon is defined as a famous person or thing that
people admire and see as a symbol of a particular idea, way of life, etc.
Nations have iconic symbols. India has such iconic symbols that act as the
National Identity Elements of India. These symbols are intrinsic to the Indian
identity and heritage. Indians of all demographics and backgrounds across the
world are proud of these National Symbols as they infuse a sense of pride and
patriotism in every Indian’s heart. These are India’s National Flag (the Horizontal
Tricolour with Wheel), National Anthem (Jana-gana-mana), National Song (Vande
Mataram), State Emblem (Four Lions), National Bird (Peacock), National Animal
(Tiger) and National Flower (Lotus), National Tree (Banyan), National River
(Ganga), National Aquatic Animal (River Dolphin), National Fruit (Mango) and
National Calendar (Saka Era).
National icons typically emerge from a glorious past
and an exciting present to inspire and unite all Indians. They serve as
reminders of the identity in functions and events, reinforcing the feeling of
oneness. Companies have typically, for long, developed their individual symbols
and logos to inspire homogeneity and focus, and promote an enduring connect
with the customers and public at large. India has been creative in developing
various thematic symbols for various initiatives from time to time; and so do
international organizations. India’s recent Make in India Lion oriented icon is
an inspiration for the campaign. As India gears up to achieve further global
growth as an international economic powerhouse it would be appropriate to
conceptualize certain national development icons to inspire aligned thoughts,
expressions and actions for a glorious socio-economic future for India.
Key drivers
India’s socio-economic development will be driven by a
balanced growth of a number of social and economic sectors. While agriculture,
industry and services would be three core economic sectors, social and
industrial infrastructure would be a key enabler as well as a key driver. In
fact, the interdependence and interlinkages of various sectors makes it
difficult to sequence, let alone prioritize, one over the other. Some sectors
are well developed while some are yet to mature in India. In some cases,
development is relatively comprehensive (steel, automobile and pharmaceutical
manufacture, for example) but in some cases it is patchy (education, healthcare
and housing, for example).
Given that everything develops everything else
(provided a balanced development process is followed), it would be appropriate
to choose certain icons which can inspire India to be proud of the progress
thus far and the potentialities that need to be mastered in future. This blog
post presents a framework of ten such national development icons. Some of these
reflect certain matured capability of which the country can be rightly proud of
while the balance are essential aspirations bolstered be certain isolated
successes. It is not claimed that these are the most representative ones but
these are certainly inspirational as developmental icons. These have powerful
developmental force and can create cascading development impact across the
socio-economic firmament.
1. National Product Icon – Automobile
India has a huge portfolio of industrial and consumer
products that are domestically produced. Amongst all, no industry has achieved
the level of dramatic transformation that the automobile industry has achieved.
From an output of just 250,000 vehicles of all types, including a miniscule 30,000
annually of three dated cars in the 1970s, the industry has grown in scale and
scope tremendously (100 fold increase!) to emerge as the sixth largest in the
world with an output of 25 million vehicles annually. The industry is able to
design its own new vehicles in India as evidenced by Tata Nano and
Renault-Nissan Kwid. The industry is capable of becoming the third largest in
the world by 2020. Automobile is truly a national product icon for India,
demonstrating what the country can accomplish.
2. National Development Icon – Bullet
Train
India has the world’s largest rail network. Though a
government owned institution, the Indian Railways it has been able to run
itself independently as if it were a corporation. Indian Railways with a
network of 7,172 stations, 115,000 kms of track length over a route length of
65,000 kms, carrying annually 8.4 billion passengers and 1 billion tonnes of
freight. Indian Railways is not only the lifeline of India with such a huge
pan-Indian network but is an ecosystem by itself with an employment of 1.3
million and several welfare institutions such as schools and hospitals as well
as housing colonies. Yet, Indian Railways needs to urgently move to the next
trajectory of rail technology which is bullet trains. Bullet trains or high
speed trains capable of travelling at or above 400 kmph (as in Japan, Europe or
China) can dramatically transform the socio-economic status of India.
3. National Globalization Icon –
Smart Device
4. National Energy Icon – Power Plant
India is criticised for its woeful performance in the
power sector; power, in terms of availability and cost, is identified as one of
the critical bottlenecks for India’s industrialization. That said, India is one
of the few countries which has a mix of all kinds of power plants, thermal
(coal, oil and gas), hydro, nuclear and renewable power plants. The total power
output is nearly 300,000 MW but has a huge gap to be met. Power projects apart
from road projects are some of the most stalled or delayed infrastructure
projects in India. As an aspirational icon, power plant will be seen over the
next few years as one would accelerate India’s socio-economic development with
an equal focus on energy for residential and industrial purposes. The Ultra
Mega Power Projects and Renewable Energy projects would be seen as new icons of
economic power for India.
5. National Security Icon – Housing
Housing is one of the fundamental needs of security
for any society. India presents a very patchy and paradoxical picture in terms
of housing. Some reports suggest that in certain metro areas lakhs of
apartments are remaining unsold even as the demand for affordable urban houses has
been facing a demand gap of a few million units. Lack of proper housing with
protective structural elements is the major pain point in all of rural and most
urban areas. Housing being the fundamental need and also being the most
important employment provider as well as trigger for a number of industries
(such as steel, cement, construction materials and paints as well as interior
fit-outs), ‘housing for all’ which is a Modi Government’s Mission is an
aspiration for India as a whole.
6. National Welfare Icon – Healthcare
Every society owes to itself the duty of health and
wellness of every individual. India despite its rich heritage of Ayurveda and
Yoga is ironically facing some of the most disabling healthcare challenges in
the world, including proliferation of diabetes and other metabolic disorders,
besides infectious and cancerous diseases. The hospital and doctor network as
well as access to emergency services are patchy while the aged and independent
have no healthcare insurance that is worthy of mention. The country has just
one doctor for 2000 people while the density of hospital beds per 10000
population is just 9 against global average of 30 and a range of 60 to 150 in
the developed Asian countries. The availability of medical technicians and
technologists as well as nurses and paramedical staff is also woefully low.
Indian doctors and surgeons, however, have demonstrated the ability to conduct
complex surgical operations and be globally competitive. This capability
requires a universal coverage within India. Healthcare, therefore, will need to
be the National Welfare icon in India.
7. National Equity Icon – Education
Come May and June, India would be in the exciting
phase of amazing results from school final examinations and the excruciating
phase of seeking admissions in schools and colleges. Statistics apart, it is
touching to come across cases of students making the highest grades despite the
handicaps of underdeveloped geographies and schools, and constraints of poverty
and non-affordability. Education is the fundamental driver of equity and
equality in India and has helped people from indigent sections move up in terms
of high positions in administration, business and industry. India is a globally
competitive powerhouse in the education sector with 1.4 million schools and
35,000 higher education institutes, Indian Institutes of Technology, Indian
Institutes of Management, National Institutes of Technology and several other
specialized institutes. India has the capability to globalize its educational
competencies even more. Education will, however, be the most potent instrument
of establishing social equity in India with appropriate policy support.
8. National Competitiveness Icon – Space
Mission
If there is one sector that has gained reached
astronomical heights (literally!) despite being in public sector in India it is
the space sector. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has been in the
forefront of building and operating satellites, satellite launching rockets and
satellite launching stations in India. It has not only put several satellites
in orbits but recently joined the exclusive club of developed nations that has
sent a satellite to Mars (Mangalyaan Mission). ISRO has the infrastructure to
put its space technology for India’s industrial and economic development
requirements (including communication and weather forecasting) and the ability
to support the space programs of other emerging nations. India’s space mission
would remain an icon of India’s national competitiveness.
9. National Sustenance Icon – Agriculture
India is still an agrarian economy. If it were not so,
despite the industrial sophistication the Reserve Bank of India and the Stock
Markets would not have adversely reacted to forecasts of deficient monsoon this
year. With nearly two thirds of India’s population dependent on agriculture, it
is clear that national sustenance is closely dependent on agricultural output.
Many feel that China is ahead of India only due to massive manufacturing scope
and productivity. On the other hand, agricultural buoyancy seems to have been
supporting Chinese economy to a greater degree than is visible. According to a
study, China has bettered India in terms of farm output (twice over), agricultural
area (515 versus 179 million hectares), crop yields (double the level), capital
formation (thrice over), per capita agricultural supplies (twice over), and so
on. Raising farm productivity and rural prosperity would be vital for the
overall Indian economy. Agriculture would continue to be India national
sustenance icon.
10. National Innovation Icon – Design
and Development
Innovation is first time discovery. Innovation leads
to novel designs and developments. Design and development is the intellectual
driver of industrialization. Given the diversified industrial capabilities
acquired so far and the huge pool of scientific and technical talent base with
a very young demographics, India has the greatest chance to innovate across the
arenas. Instead of merely adopting and adapting overseas designs, India’s huge
scientific and technical manpower should be leveraged to set up design studios
for Indian industry and global industry as well. If the industry and
governments put their heart, soul and investments into innovation, new product
development can be an iconic part of India’s development. Starting with early
stage design and development immediately, India can become a global innovation
hub eventually. India’s innovation can straddle both process and product
aspects. Only when India has achieved a global recognition in innovation, the
fullest potential of Indian talent could be seen to be fulfilled. Design and
development needs to be firmly positioned as India’s national innovation icon.
Iconic
identity
Icons bring pride and ownership and inspire common
identity. If the fullest industrial, social and economic progress in terms of
the above 10 sectors becomes iconic, India would emerge as a truly global icon
of equitable development. There is huge work to be done but India is capable of
delivering on such iconic identity.
Posted by Dr CB Rao on July 4, 2015
1 comment:
Good idea Dr Rao
Having "items" which are a proven success will increase the believability much higher than an aspirational icon (e.g., bullet train). In that sense, may be we can look at other potential icons too?
- Having e-com/mcom as development icon where India has a thriving eco-system and is capable of replicating what IT industry did a few decades ago
- IT Industry as one of the icons. In just 25 years, IT has become a $120B industry, contributing immensely to India's pride, export and skill development, not to mention lifting a good part of an entire generation (1990-2000 engineers) out of morass, by providing an attractive option
- Having 2W or more specifically Motorcycles instead of Car. While the car volumes have inarguably grown, for a nation this bag and this long a tryst with cars, we have just two "indigenous" cars that we can talk about. On the other hand, India is the largest in volumes globally for motorcycles and is far ahead in exports, both in terms of number of countries and extent of penetration within the targeted countries
There could be other sectors, which perhaps havent achieved yet, but could be interesting bets - Solar & Wind energy comes to mind.
Post a Comment