New Delhi: With India and China establishing themselves as two key powers in the world economic order, global media has been tracking their growth trajectory.
While an opinion piece by an economist in Financial Times applauds the economic policy of liberalisation in these nations, another such article in The Economist suggests the “3i” approach to growth.
Back in 1980, India and China accounted for just 5 percent of the global income. Now, they contribute around 25 percent, reducing the inequality in global income distribution. In the Financial Times piece, ‘Global inequality is narrowing — and that is cause for celebration’, Shekhar Aiyar writes that the liberalisation of these two economies triggered a “step-increase” in their respective GDP growth.
Aiyar, a visiting scholar at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, non-resident fellow at Bruegel and visiting professor at National Council of Applied Economic Research, highlights the “rapid income growth even at the bottom of the income distribution”, describing the reduction in absolute poverty in China and India as one of the most dramatic improvements in human welfare in history.
Meanwhile, income inequality has surged in the West, becoming a central issue in political discourse and fuelling populist attacks on the liberal economic order, the author writes.
In a piece in The Economist, Indermit Gill, chief economist and senior vice-president of the World Bank Group, discusses the challenges that developing countries, like China and India, face in their pursuit of becoming high-income or “rich” nations. Gill argues that these countries often get stuck in the “middle-income trap”, where economic growth stalls as they reach middle-income levels.
“Since 1970, the average per-person income of middle-income countries has never risen above 10% of the level in America,” he writes. To overcome this, he proposes a “3i” strategy: first focusing on investment, then infusing foreign technology, and finally fostering innovation. He emphasises that this sequenced approach, exemplified by South Korea’s economic rise, is crucial for developing countries to achieve sustained and equitable growth.
Young Indian bankers are hopping from one bank to another in pursuit of higher salaries. A Bloomberg report by Preeti Singh and Ruchi Bhatia highlights that India’s financial sector is experiencing unprecedented levels of attrition, which are among the highest globally. The country’s booming credit market and economic growth have intensified pressure on banks, leading to a troubling side effect — a significant churn of young employees.
While senior bankers have seen substantial pay increases, entry-level salaries remain “stubbornly low”, contributing to dissatisfaction among junior staff, the authors write. Issues, like language barriers and bias against those coming from non-elite and non-metro spaces, have caused a mismatch between job expectations and actual roles exacerbating these issues, the report explains.
In a Financial Times opinion piece, Kishore Mahbubani argues that the veto rights in the United Nations must be adjusted to reflect the changing world order for the organisation to maintain its credibility. The author, a distinguished fellow at the National University of Singapore and author of The Asian 21st Century, writes that the UK must cede its permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to India.
Mahbubani underscores the UK’s declining global influence and notes that its GDP has now fallen below India’s, signalling its reduced stature on the world stage. He also recalls how, during the Iraq war in 2003, the UK had felt compelled to align with the US, even in the face of strong opposition from France and Germany.
He suggests that there would be “poetic justice” in the UK relinquishing its UNSC seat to India, given the colonial past, referring to Shashi Tharoor’s claims that Britain owes reparations to India, and the “looting” of the Kohinoor diamond by British imperialists from “a 10-year-old ruler after imprisoning his mother”.
In the past, various calls have been made for India to be made a permanent member at the UNSC. In April this year, External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar had assured that India will get a permanent seat, but ‘will have to work hard’ for it. Earlier this year, he called the reform of the UN bodies ‘common sense’.
The FT piece comes just a day before the statement to the UNSC by Indian Ambassador R. Ravindra, Charge d’Affaires & Deputy Permanent Representative. The ambassador, on behalf of the G4 nations (Japan, Brazil, Germany and India), Monday proposed an increase in UNSC membership by adding six permanent members — two each from African states and Asia Pacific states, one from Latin American and Caribbean states, and one from Western European and other states.
“For the G4, a primary reason for the underperformance of this critical institution remains the non-representation of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and the underrepresentation of Asia-Pacific in the permanent category of the UN Security Council,” he said, while addressing the UNSC.
The iconic Irani cafes, which have been a part of Indian culture for over a century, are now facing the threat of extinction, reports BBC. Correspondent Amarendra Yarlagadda writes that the Persian-style cafes are known for their creamy chai, fresh samosas, and unique ambiance with marble-topped tables and chequered floors.
While the cafes have adapted and transformed over time with the British supporting a tea-drinking culture to fast food restaurants pushing for greater seating and larger menus at these cafes, they are still “under threat”. The BBC report quotes those in the business blaming rising prices, competition from fast-food restaurants, and changing consumer tastes for this decline.
“Hyderabad has the highest number of Irani cafes after Mumbai even today,” Yarlagadda writes, highlighting the dwindling numbers. “From an estimated 450 cafes over two decades ago, Hyderabad now has only 125 left,” the report reads.
Ukraine claims to control 1000 sq km of Russia, Musk interviews Trump
After a rare incursion by Ukrainian troops into Russian territory last week, Ukraine now claims to control at least 1,000 sq km of Russian territory. To know more, read BBC’s report.
Technical glitches and softball questions marked the chat between US presidential candidate Donald Trump and X CEO Elon Musk. Read The New York Times report to know more.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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