Remaking of India: Dovetailing Diplomacy & Development
It’s time for making and remaking of India, an ancient rainbow civilisation transforming into a modern nation and an emerging powerhouse that is spawning a new narrative of renaissance, resurgence and renewal. The India Story is back in global circulation, with international rating agencies and bankers conjuring up cheery forecasts for growth prospects of Asia’s third largest economy. The IMF and the World Bank have already predicted that India’s economic growth will surpass that of China’s by 2016-2017, a prognosis that has been reinforced by Asian Development Bank and other trend-trackers.
The Economist has encapsulated this new mood of ‘India Optimism’ in its recent cover story entitled “A chance to fly.” The prestigious British magazine says India has a rare opportunity to become the world’s most dynamic big economy,” but adds on a cautionary note: “The potential is there; the question has always been whether it can be unleashed.”
If the potential of 1.2 billion people of India and their surging dreams has to be realised, the Modi government in India will have to walk the talk on second-generation economic reforms (and it is already doing so by going ahead with crucial reforms in a host of areas, including raising the FDI cap in insurance and telecom). But the success of the India story in the coming months and years will also depend on how New Delhi leverages its growing global stature and harnesses its external relationships and multiple strategic partnerships through smart diplomacy to stimulate an Indian renaissance.
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