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Journalism of Courage
After a series of bad news events, from the drought to the disinvestment drama to the Standard 038; Poor8217;s downgrade, at last there8217;s a slew of good news. Industrial production is up, India8217;s up several notches in the World Economic Forum8217;s latest global competitiveness ratings, a recent study by economist Surjit Bhalla puts poverty levels at exactly half the official estimates, and credit rating agency Moody8217;s is all set to up the country8217;s credit rating. To top it all, the Reserve Bank of India is in the midst of a re-calculation which could see India8217;s foreign direct investment levels go up about 3-4 times. This isn8217;t statistical jugglery. It8217;s actually in keeping with the IMF definition of what constitutes foreign investment. Let8217;s say Citibank brings in 100 mn to set up offices in India, this gets recorded as foreign investment. But now, let8217;s say, Citi makes a profit of another 100mn, and invests that in India as well. Indian statistics, for some reason, don8217;t take this additional 100 mn into account while tabulating foreign investments 8212; every other country, including China, includes these in their foreign investment statistics. Once this exercise is done, naturally, the India-China comparison will not look as bad as it does today.
But having rejoiced, it is time for a note of caution. China will still be miles ahead of India 8212; its foreign investment levels may not be 10 times that of India8217;s, but they8217;ll still be 3 or 4 times higher. While there are plenty of success stories emanating from India, there are just that many more from China. China8217;s life expectancy is 70 years against India8217;s 63, and its infant mortality rate is a mere 32 as against India8217;s 69. In any case, the issue8217;s not just about numbers, it8217;s about perceptions. While China is admitting capitalists into its sanctum sanctorum, the Communist Party, India8217;s still debating whether privatisation is good or bad.
