A Trillion Dollar Economy A Billion Smiles

India became a trillion dollar economy on Wednesday the 25th of April 2007 when the Indian rupee appreciated to below the '41 mark' against the dollar. India thus became only the 12th country in the world to achieve the feat. Well that is the good news. The captains of Industry are ecstatic and rightly too.With the economy growing at 9 percent, India watchers had been predicting this milestone by the end of the the current financial year but it was achieved much faster, helped along with the rising rupee."It signals the maturing of the Indian economy and indicates that most of its contributing engines are beginning to to fire," said one of the leading lights of the Indian industry. Does it?

Every time the Indian Economy achieves a major macro-economic milestone my thoughts turn to the poor Indian. It would have been great if the trillion dollar Indian economy could put a smile on the faces of all the billion Indians. It really would be a great day for the Indians if the Trillion dollars could mean that every Indian could take home at least a $1000 per annum. Is that too much to ask? In the Information age? In India? It should not be. After all India is only the twelfth country to go past the trillion dollar mark and is counted among the top ten economies of the world. India's foreign currency reserves have gone beyond $200 billion mark, the stock market will soon provide the the next milestone for everyone to cheer when the market capitalization goes past the $1 trillion mark from the current $944 billion. By 2020 India's GDP would have quadrupled and shouldn't that make every Indian hopeful of earning a thousand dollars. The sad thing is that all the mega macro level news will not translate into good news for the common man. It is the responsibility of the government, leaders of industry and educationists to reach out to the people and encourage relevant education and free enterprise and employment. The banks ought to back micro-finance companies in their effort to help people set up their tiny little businesses. People who are trying to lift themselves out of the quagmire of poverty businesses instead of just financing consumerist activities. There is nothing wrong with financing someone who wants to buy an air conditioner, a digital camera, a microwave, a dvd player, a laptop, a TV,a car or a motorcycle but my contention is simple, that a young Indian who wants a loan to start a business should not hesitate walking into a bank or approach a micro-finance company and ask for financial assistance. The banks and the financial institutions should be able to entertain the entrepreneur's application for financial assistance without looking down upon him just because he can't speak fluent English or that his clothes are not from designer stores.
India could certainly become a land of genuine billion smiles if the government, and the training institutes could develop the entrepreneur in every young Indian. The distribution of wealth will take care of itself if parents and educational institutes stop selling 'the lie' to future generations who have grown up thinking that the only way to financial success is getting a good degree and going out to work for some one else. It is time we told them the truth. And the truth is develop relevant skills and go out and shape your own destiny. Have the guts to work for your self and to start your own business. The young generation, which is India's finest asset and most vital engine, has the vigor and the energy to turn the trillion dollar economy into a land of a billion smiles.