THE FEEL GOOD FACTOR

India’s economic indices reveal that we have achieved record levels of growth. In the past few years, it was difficult to ignore the couple of clouds despite the silver linings. Around 2004, it was feared that the growth in India would be jobless and manufacturing would languish. Those fears have proved to be baseless. This economic surge has a heart. Every sector has expanded its employment numbers and there are new investments across the board. What is more encouraging is that the growth is not restricted to IT and other services sectors but has spread to traditional industries like textiles, steel, even readymade garments.

When celebrating any economic progress, all Indians wonder how our great rival China compares by the same standards. An increasing number of economists are beginning to bet on India. The reason is that unlike China’s investment-driven economy, India’s is consumption-led. Today, for the middle-class Indian affordability is no longer a function of price. The Indian consumer’s spending has moved from worrying about the MRP to quickly calculating the EMI. His urge to splurge has been accelerated by flexibility in pricing, the availability of easy loans, and product innovation, such as a PC for less than Rs 10,000 or a RS 10 phone recharge.