India’s economy… the rollercoaster ride from superpower to steep decline and back again

I’ve been writing for RasGas magazine on India’s economy.  Ravaged – almost destroyed – by the British in the colonial era, it’s had a rollercoaster ride in recent years. It’s one of the BRIC economies and seemed unstoppable, but then hit a massive downturn. Forecasters were gloomy; political inertia and weak domestic demand seemed too difficult to resolve. But in the last few months it’s powered up again and the future looks better than ever.

There have been some astonishing twists and turns along the way. How many Brits know that we almost wiped out India’s manufacturing sector of highly skilled workers during the Empire? We flooded their markets with our cheap mass-produced goods from Birmingham and Manchester – made possible with all those low-paid workers in the factories of the industrial revolution. They couldn’t compete. (Later, of course, our own manufacturing sector collapsed, because of cheap mass-produced goods… but that’s another story.) But after they gained independence they made up for lost time. Revolutionary approaches to farming meant that no more famine; similar approaches to industry transformed the economy into a superpower along with Brazil, Russia and China.

And then slowdown. Political scandals, bureaucracy and reluctance to change have meant that much-needed reforms didn’t happen. Investors  have seen this as a downward slide into stagnation. But they were wrong. To find out why, you’ll need to read the full story.Button Text