The good and the better on India
Thursday, September 23, 2004 at 11:52AM ■"Indians Answer Cellphones' Call: Economic Liberalization Spurs Rush to Serve Vast, Untapped Market," by Eric Bellman, Wall Street Journal, 23 September 2004, p. A13.
■"India Sets Focus On Better Life In Rural Regions: Singh Believes His Nation May Show Path to Coping With Islamic Aspirations," by Murray Hiebert and Marcus W. Brauchli, Wall Street Journal, 23 September 2004, p. A13.
The good is the booming growth of cellphones throughout India, thanks to deregulation. As always, it's not about the amount of rules you have, but how good they are, which typically means how simple they are. For many years, the cellphone industry in India was getting nowhere thanks to a plethora of fights over who could do what where. Then, 10 months ago, rule sets were clarified enough for the price wars to begin. That's all it took, just enough rule-set certainty for the big players to risk the large investments. So now people all over India are connecting up like never before.
The better: new PM Manmohan Singh's continuing commitment to focus on the rural poor, believing that if done right, India could serve as a model for how a state deals with the economic aspirations of Muslims without triggering a clash of civilizations. His key point, though, is not economic in nature, but focused on security: you can't sacrifice key civil liberties to stave off extremist violence. As he says, "This is not an easy path."
I say, count your stars we have Singh in power because this guy is very sharp. And yes, he is an economist by training. His ability to locate the military-market nexus drives his subtle understanding of how economic development must become the biggest weapon we wield in this global war on terror, which will only end when we successfully shrink the Gap.
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