Overview
India has the distinction of being the largest democracy in the world.
The country's constitution, which came into being in 1950, envisaged
protecting and enhancing national unity and integrity, establishing
institutions and the spirit of democracy, and fostering a social revolution
to better the lot of Indians. The framers of the constitution believed
that these three areas were mutually dependent and inextricably intertwined.
Democracy has been described as a process of collective and authoritative
(governmental) decisions and is based on the belief that the authority
to make these decisions resides in the people and not in some economically,
socially, or racially defined minority.
For about 40 years since Independence, India had a closed-door economy.
The 1990s saw India embark upon an ambitious liberalization program.
Through access to technology, capital, and markets, Indian industry
has acquired a global focus and engineered an economic upsurge.
There is universal acceptance that India is now riding the crest of
a wave of reforms and growth. The Indian economy grew faster than expected
in the first part of 2005, on the back of a sharp rise in industrial
exports and buoyant domestic demand: It grew 8.1 percent in April to
June , well ahead of the 7 percent rise seen in the previous quarter.
Rapid growth in manufacturing and business services such as outsourcing
offset a small rise in agriculture. India's huge industrial capacity
and growing affluence have made it one of the world's fastest-growing
economies.
Many factors are behind the robust performance of the Indian economy
in 2004–05. High growth rates in the industry and service sector
and a benign world economic environment provided a backdrop for success
in the Indian economy. Another positive feature was that the growth
was accompanied by continued relative price stability.
The Indian economy today has a much higher absorptive capacity than
in the early 1990s. The current industrial recovery is consumer-led.
Consumer demand is growing rapidly, as evidenced by the growth in financial
services, telecom, aviation, real estate, and the like, and is lower
in areas in which regulations are still hampering the supply side, such
as ports, roads, power, mining, and public services.
How India will fulfill its ambition of sustaining 8 to 10 percent growth
while integrating its rural economy and addressing its income disparities
remains an important strategic question for the country's stakeholders.
Thus, India now needs a high-growth strategy that can absorb its labor
surplus while meeting the economic needs of its vast rural population,
90 percent of whom live in villages of less than 2,000 people.
India is committed to reducing its consolidated fiscal deficit, from
9.4 percent of GDP (2003–2004) to 7.9 percent in 2004–2005
and currently has foreign exchange reserves estimated to be more than
US$120 billion. However, even by its own estimates, the government will
need to raise at least US$150 billion over the next 10 years to improve
the country's inadequate infrastructure. Foreign direct investment
will, therefore, be the key to growth.
 Global Trends & India’s Position
Indian parliamentarians are not necessarily educated people. They
may have limited knowledge of the state of the economy in their respective
constituency and state, but complete exposure to macroeconomic aspects
may be lacking. The average Indian MP is dependent on support staff
that is poorly paid, and hence the level of their contribution is below
par.
U.S. Senators and members of Congress, on the other hand, have staffers
who are constantly on the job to churn out research-oriented reports
and papers. India has a pressing need to enrich the debates and level
of discussions in the two houses of parliament with well-researched
papers containing appropriate and authentic data.
Proper governance of economic activity needs more attention. The flow
of funds needs to be transparent, to ensure that the funds are used
as intended. Government policies, rules, and procedures need to be transparent,
and the general public needs to be educated and kept informed about
them to minimize authorities' discretion and to alleviate the public's
ignorance. Delays in the execution of policy and procedures by the Government
of India need to be curtailed and officials made accountable.
Funding for elections is an issue where unaccountable money flows freely.
Similarly, candidates should not have criminal backgrounds. Global trends
are more transparent, result-oriented, and accountable.
CII Initiatives
As India's premier business organization, CII has been at the
forefront of change in India, helping industry and business find new
solutions and enhance their competitiveness while playing a proactive
role in facilitating growth-oriented government regulations and policies.
CII's proactive role in India's development process involves
providing information- and analysis-based advisory and consultative
services to all stakeholders. It has set up national committees and
councils on various subjects and in various areas. One of them was the
CII Public Policy Committee (1991 onward), which is now known as the
CII Public Governance Council.
This Council's objective is to brief members of parliament and
other political leaders about the state of the economy and industry
and also build a broad consensus on economic, political, and social
issues. This is done through regular dialogue with central and state
leaders of all prominent political parties; organizing visits to CII
trade fairs as well as regional, national, and international workshops
and conferences; and organizing overseas visits—with a focus on
strengthening governance and promoting economic growth.
CII interacts with MPs, politicians, and political parties. In 2005
it has interacted with approximately 125 MPs and politicians; 30 bureaucrats;
and numerous parliamentary standing committees, such as Finance, Human
Resource Development, Defense and Rural Development, and Examination
of Rural Housing.
It regularly conducts dialogues and sessions with Indian as well as
visiting dignitaries. Other activities include political and business
missions to various countries to explore the possibilities for collaboration
and cooperation. CII has signed numerous memorandums with various countries.
Current Issues
India may be the largest Democracy however what is needed is:
Opportunities for Collaboration
Indian Americans can provide their expertise in helping the government
formulate its strategies for growth. Their global experience—not
only in terms of strategizing but also of conceptualizing and delivering
large-scale infrastructure projects, managing growth, and the like—can
be useful to the government as well as the corporate sector. Another
area in which Indian Americans can provide expertise is in raising foreign
direct investment (FDI) for critical infrastructure projects.
There is also an urgent need to troubleshoot and help change the mind-set
of the people in India. Some privatization and infrastructure projects
have faced major roadblocks due to workers' insecurity, inhibiting
FDI as well as project delivery. Here Indian Americans can help by providing
different globalized perspectives.
Ongoing projects / activities available in India
- Economic facilitation of MP delegation exchanges to expose them
to economic, political, social, and cultural areas and activities
in the host country
- Organizing programs at the international level covering topics
such as:
- E-governance
- Democracy and stability: economic, political, and social
- Consensus building, public policy, and economic growth
- Campaign finance and reforming the electoral process
- Renewing political parties
- Women's participation in political and corporate life
- Corporate governance and the market economy
- Fighting corruption through better transparency and accountability
- Civil society reform and the private sector
- Government/business cooperation for sustainable growth
- The media's role in consensus building and policy debates
For more information please send email to iac@cii-usa.org.
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