India, the world’s most populous country, is a major economic and political power in South Asia. Known for its vast linguistic, cultural, and geographic diversity, India has a rich history that spans thousands of years, with deep-rooted traditions in philosophy, science, art, and religion. Its large population and vast history mark its economic and cultural importance.
While India’s civilization can be traced to the Harrapan era, that is, 1400 BCE, its modern political boundaries were established in 1947 when it gained independence from British rule. It is now a federal parliamentary democracy with 28 states and 8 union territories, with New Delhi as its capital. India has a democratic system with a multiparty political landscape, with the Indian National Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party being the two dominant national parties.
As one of the fastest-growing major economies, India is a global hub for technology, manufacturing, and services, while also being an agrarian powerhouse. It is a nuclear-armed state and plays a key role in regional and global geopolitics, maintaining strategic partnerships with various nations.
India is one of the most ethnically and religiously diverse countries in the world, home to multiple religions, sects, castes, and tribes. It has more than ten-thousand languages and hundreds of regional dialects, with Hindi and English serving as the two of the 22 official languages. Despite economic progress, India faces challenges such as poverty, unemployment, and environmental concerns, alongside managing its complex social fabric and regional disparities.
It is just naivety to demand disjunction between economic and fiscal policies….
Mr Raghavan trying to sound sober & sane economic technocrat to advise Govt to pay attention to ASER report rather than expanding “doles”…. but this speak poorly of author’s disdain for political economy…
Govt CAN NOT embark on “transformative welfarism” ( of education & health) away from “transactional welfarism” ( of freebies) simply because ” transformative welfarism” requires much more fiscal profligacy at least on short to medium term , can engender macroeconomic instability ( like wage-price spiral) which inevitably will lead to breakdown of social contract between Indian capitalists & Ruling govt..WHICH THIS GOVT CAN NOT AFFORD
In fact this breakdown of social-contract due to macroeconomic instability of UPA regime is one reason for its debacle as MGNREGA probably inspired some wage-price spiral post 2010….
As if Modi will follow whatever is written here… Please stop dreaming….