Why do we lag behind China?

Recently, the London-based Legatum Institute’s Prosperity Index placed India well ahead of China. In domestic institutional maturity, India was ranked 36th to China’s 100th. And then in the social capital sub-index India was ranked 5th and China, 70th.

Thus, India was supposed to have beaten China. But could it be true? I had doubts. Today’s report – US cos prefer China for investment (click me) seems to give the correct picture. (quote- The survey states as much as 74 per cent of the American companies surveyed ranked China as a top-three investment priority with nearly 20 per cent of them naming it as the number one investment spot for them.- unquote)

The 2009 China Business Report released by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai shows that ‘a large majority of American firms operating in China the continue to see revenue and profit growth even as elsewhere they face downturn.’ China is the world’s ‘fastest growing economy.’ Not surprising. May I share a personal experience?

Last summer, I had taken the Alaskan cruise. On board the ‘Radiance of the Seas.’ It is a big ship with excellent facilities. In the midst of an unfamiliar luxury, what struck the patriotic cord was the fact that almost everything one saw on board the American ship was ‘made in China’.

In the cabin, the toiletries, towels, linen and water flasks were from China. In the dining hall, the crockery and cutlery carried the Chinese label. The position persisted in the shopping area. Even a small battery ‘charger’ needed to energise the camera, though labelled ‘Kodak,’ had actually come from China. It seemed that the ship was flooded with Chinese goods.

After about 36 hours of leaving Vancouver, we had anchored at Ketchikan. It is a small but beautiful town in the state of Alaska. It is popularly known as the ‘salmon’ city. Has a total population of about 13,000. There are shops within almost a hundred yards of the port. One may walk into any shop. Each one is stuffed with all kinds of winter wear and small souvenirs. The caps, shirts, sweaters, chinaware and knives. Everything except the knives, which are a purely local product, was from China.

Click here to read the full article by JL Gupta from Tribune India

Tailpiece
by SaneIndian on Dec 12, 2009 01:22 AM
Infrastructure in India is beyond horrible. Why would anybody want to invest in India when there is no proper transportation or storage available? Govt should invest heavily in developing infrastructure first. Then India can dream about competing with China. The horrible conditions of the roads and indiscriminate use of Auto-Rickshaws and 2 wheelers ruin what ever little good is there on Indian roads- Chennai City says it all loudly! India has become a joke among the west. All we are doing is living in a false paradise. Democracy is a farce in India: It is more of Criminalisation of the Citizens by the State- The Indian Constitution favours Criminals and Political Criminals to breed at faster pace than the growth of population (as is evident for the last 60 years)!