Slow Adds Up- Gurcharan Das

2006, the year gone by, was one of the best in India's economic history. We had two successive quarters of 9 per cent growth, following three unprecedented years of 8, and this came on top of a remarkable 6 per cent average growth in the previous 22 years. (Recall that the West's industrial revolution took place at a rate of 3 per cent GDP growth!) As a result, 1 per cent of the country's poor have crossed the poverty line each year since 1980, and this adds up to almost 200 million people. It is less than China's 300 million, but it is significant. Meanwhile, population growth has also begun to slow. ...read more