India the economy which was once treated as a poor economy has become the hot spot of investments over the last decade. In fact it became more attractive for investments once the game of leveraged play of western economy came to a halt after the crisis. In the last couple of years and in the last decade we heard much about rural India and its developments songs. Well India has more than 50% of its population below the age of 25 and more than 65% below the age of 35. It is expected that, in 2020, the average age of an Indian will be 29 years, compared to 37 for China and 48 for Japan; and, by 2030, India's dependency ratio should be just over 0.4. The statistical data would make every Indian proud but there is an deep cry behind the smiling numbers.
We are in the path of exploitation and rural India is the biggest pot of the game. Prior to implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) Indian framers were finding ways to commit suicide in order to escape from the dark nights of starvation and no income. Well before me there have be more than dozen articles being written on the same topic. But my pivot point of my article is placed somewhere else.
We are still living in the world of illiteracy despite of having many modern plasma based education schools. The biggest proof is that according to India's 2011 census depicts a serious decline in the number of girls under the age of seven - activists fear eight million female foetuses may have been aborted between 2001 and 2011.Well updated Indian technology has failed to educate Indians about this subject. We often compare our life style with the western economies and other emerging economies. We have adopted to their lifestyle particularly in urban segment around 75%.According to the 2011 census birth sex ratio in India, of 917 girls to 1000 boys, is similar to 870-930 girls to 1000 boys birth sex ratios observed in Japanese. The affects of globalization is only limited to those areas where money is being printed or rather returns on investments are being calculated in number to times.
In the opening lines I told that by 2020 average age of an Indian will be 29 years which gives immense opportunity for the consumption sector to grow. Well I am compelled to come back to economics from social factors again. Western economies and even domestic economy is eyeing the age bracket and not the rising population of India. Since the major difference between the averages bracket of 29 and 35 would the pattern of consumption which leads to the amount of profitability being projected to earn in the long term. In simple words how fast one can be exploited.
Profitability of the companies will only increase from consumption which is marketed well by the economic heads of every economic mind. No one thinks of increasing the savings and making an proper way ahead for the society and economy to grow in terms of health, education, malnutrition and sewage system.
Many of my readers might think that I am again coming back to the old primitive story being written like one wrote by the NGOs or I am trying to portray a negative image of Indian economy. Prosperity of an economy is within the well being living of a citizen. Rural India and part of the urban are still struggling to make an earning. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has benefited strongly the white goods, liquor financial companies to sell their products. Rural India still don’t know what legacy they will keep for next generation. They are being exploited for consumption. We are exploited for cast system, we are exploited for religion, we are exploited for purchasing a new mobile handset every month.
Well like me many will come to write on similar thought lines but we hardly can change the exploitation story. Once the rural India got its foods for day and night, suddenly someone came up to have the food of the night converted into mobile handsets.
INDRANEEL SEN GUPTA
Master in Economics/MBA in international Business/ICAI(Final)/Pursuing Master in Journalisim.
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