India: a land of high human capital, rich culture and a growing economy. Yet, is it, as the topic claims, a growing super power? It is this papers firm belief that India is a rising super power, and will, in a few short years, surpass the USA and China. In this essay, I will explore the relevance of the above statement and evaluate how valid it is. This essays main argument is centred on the society and economy of India.
India’s economy is growing strong and at an extremely rapid pace. However, it is still a developing country, because of the poverty scattered about the country. 11.8% of all people in India fall below the international poverty line of US$ 1.25 per day. This is as indicated below.
As shown on the map, we can see a heavy level of poverty in the North and North West. This is further affirmed by one of the poorest provinces in India, Bihar, being situated on the boarder of Nepal in the north. 81.4% of the population in this province is critically poor.
However, we are also seeing a strong middle class of educated workers. In fact, the middle class of India is of equal size to the whole population of the United States (250 million by 2015). But how can this be so, with so many of their population living under the poverty line?
A mixture of speedy urbanisation and a growing work force may provide answers to the rapidly growing economy and middle class. Half of India’s population are under 25, and an approximate 12-15 million workers is added to its labour sector every year. The people who live in poverty are being employed, which leads to more middle class and a more educated society. This of course supplements the growing economy, and in turn, boosts India on its way to becoming a super power.
In summary, the...
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Though the world economy as a whole has grown in recent years, a factor that is not taken into account is that the number “of the poor in the world has increased by 100 million” (Roy 3). In other words, the gap between rich and poor is widening. For India, this has startling implications. Though it is a nation that is developing in many ways, it also is a nation blessed with over one billion citizens, a population tally that continues to grow at a rapid rate. This population increase will greatly tax resources, which can create a setback in the development process. The tragedy, of course, is that the world is full of resources and wealth. In fact, Roy quotes a statistic showing that corporations, and not even just countries, represent 51 of the 100 largest economies in the world (Roy 3). For a country struggling to develop, such information is disheartening. However, there is also a more nefarious consequence of the growing disparity between rich and poor, and power and money being concentrated in the hands of multinational corporations: war is propagated in the name of resource acquisition, and corruption can reign as multinationals seek confederates in developing countries that will help companies drive through their plans, resulting in not only environmental destruction but also the subversion of democracy (Roy 3).
Poverty is not just an issue reserved for third world countries. Instead, poverty is a multifaceted issue that even the most developed nations must battle
Unlike the North – a term in vogue today, among others, for highlighting the difference between the rich, industrialised nations of mostly Western Europe, North America, Australasia, and the rudimentary economies of Latin America, Asia and Africa – underdevelopment, characterised by low income levels, poverty, low living standards and other socio-economic ills seem to be a defining feature of countries in these regions, collectively described as the Global South. Thomas (2003), Hershberg and Moreno-Brid(2003), and, Solimano(2005) suggest, for instance, that the socio - economic structure of most Latin American countries remains defined by vast inequalities in income and wealth distribution, poverty, volatile growth, high mortality rate and a high level of economic vulnerability. In Asia, a number of countries including the large economies of India and China have made improvements in the 21st century in terms of reducing poverty. Yet, 22% of the developing countries in Asia live on a dollar a day . The situation is bleaker in the South and Southeast Asia region where 38% leave on less than a dollar a day and over 48% of the population living below the regions individual country poverty line . Likewise, absolute poverty is on the rise in Africa - generally recognised as the world’s richest continent in terms of natural resources - despite a recorded decline in global poverty rates (Bhattacharyya: 2005).
Firstly, industrialisation has expanded the employment opportunities in India. People living in rural areas have moved to cities in search of better employment.
I never thought I would find so much information on the incredibly shrinking middle class until I searched around for it on the Internet. In the United States, the middle class is put into a strange socioeconomic category. Although it is not easily defined everyone believes they belong in that class. I guess what you can do is look at it in two different ways. First ask the question “What percent of all income is distributed to the middle class at any time,” then think about “How many families obtain enough income to achieve a middle class standard of living at any point of time.” Basically these are two ways of approaching the middle class called either the percentile approach or the class share approach.
Let's take it back to the past in regards to wealth distribution in this country. The fact is that the economy boomed from the end of WWII into the 1970's. “Incomes grew rapidly and at roughly the same rate up and down the income ladder, roughly doubling in inflation-adjusted terms between the late 1940s and early 1970s” (CBPP). Through the 70's economic growth slowed, and the wealth gap widened. Middle-class families were now considered lower class. People relied on the government to help them out with welfare programs. The middle-class class was weakened and the gap grew and grew. There were periods of positive fluctuation, however the middle-class simply never regained it's status that was held in more prosperous times in the past.
...fferentiation of fields like production, transportation, consumption and so on. Change in them with respect to time indirectly determines the increase in the dependency on machines which in turn gauge the industrial growth of a nation. With reference to above measures, it can be observed that the onset of Industrial Revolution in India was early but very sluggish. India is neither a developed, nor an underdeveloped nation. The ongoing ‘industrial revolution’ has classified it as a developing nation.
Norton, James H.K. India and South Asia. 9th ed. New York: Mc Graw Hill, 2010.
[6] Kripalani, Majeet & Egnardio, Pete. The Rise Of India. Business Week Online. December 8, 2003. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_49/b3861001_mz001.htm
India, the second highest populated country in the world after China, with 1.27 billion people currently recorded to be living there and equates for 17.31% (India Online Pages 2014) of the world's population, but is still considered a developing country due to it’s poverty and illiteracy rates. As these nations continue to grow at rates that are too fast for resources to remain sustainable, the government’s in these areas wi...
...an HDI of 0.36. These discrepancies in levels of development have led to an exodus of people, from less developed areas to the areas that have been benefitted by development. This situation seems to depict that predicted by the Dependency theory in which the developed countries progressed due to the exploitation of peripheral nations; the same seems to be happening in India. The states that are wealthier are exploiting the poorer states. It would be difficult to imagine India having the economic status that it now has, if it was not for the terrible working conditions and wages at which the Indians are willing to work and the massive work force available in the country. Now that India has seen economic growth the government should start taking care of its citizens by implementing policies that protect the labor rights of the workforce.
To study the inequality in India, best way is to see the Gini coefficient. In the graph above, the Gini has been declining from 0.320 to 0.305 between 1982 to1995. This show that inequality was getting better but following the mid 1990’s during the reform period, it raised, showing significant increase in inequality in India from 0.305 to 0.325. Income inequality has increased in rural and urban areas.
Poverty has been an issue for a long time and every country is affected by it in some way and some countries are worse off than others. The countries most affected by poverty are Niger, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Uganda, Haiti and many other countries (Infoplease).The total percentage of world population that lives on less than $2.50 a day is that of around 50%. The definition of poverty is “The state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor.” (Dictionary). There are countless causes of poverty in under-developed countries, such as overpopulation, disease, and how the government distributes its wealth.
We must avoid the temptation if at any given time our individual national economy is more prosperous than those of our other partner states, to be so arrogant as to forget that our economic situation may be suddenly reversed and that therefore we will soon need close links with our partner states in matters concerning both the intra-regional and extra-regional spheres. West Indian history abounds with instances of countries suffering sudden reversals of their economic fortunes.
... 12 million child workers in India. They are employed in textile factories, roadside restaurants (dhabas), hotels, domestic workers, in mines and so on. They are even seen in doing hazardous work in firecrackers and matchstick industries. This is not a new scenario of India. The Government has been taking proactive steps to tackle this problem through strict enforcement of policies and laws. The root cause of this problem is said to be poverty which is a big hindrance in the way of development. India Government introduced a law in 2006, where no child under 14 years of age should work. But this law came into force in 2008. As per the said definition of underdevelopment, it can be said that there may be many factors leading to the developing country to be called as underdeveloped but the economy is something which captures the whole argument in any factor discussed.