Research Proposal on Emerging Patterns of the Indian Economy

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Emerging Patterns of the Indian Economy

Introduction

While the Indian Economy has been on a fast track of revolutionary changes over the past

decade, Indians have experienced a super fast change in almost every sphere of their life. Peoplehave been exposed to such changes all of a sudden. While these economic changes turned into

blessings for some, they turned a curse for a few and from an economic front, these wereblessings in disguise. The world sees India with a new eye now. rom being seen as a pain in the

world economy due to huge population, lack of education, facilities ! infrastructure, India is

now seen as an opportunity and a harbinger of a new age revolution in many spheres of activitiesto such an extent that Indians are now ac"uiring companies overseas and turning them around.

There have been numerous instances of foreigners coming to India to learn on how such a

turnaround happened. Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India, once "uoted, #Dreams,

Dreams, Dreams. Dreams turn into Thoughts. Thoughts turn into Actions$. While we all havethe results of the actions before us in black and blue, we ought to understand how the thoughts

have changed over a period of time and brought in these actions to life. %n a deeper note, whatdreams propelled these thoughts that transpired on to the minds to bring us where we are today. Itis also interesting to note that not everyone is a part of this rally.

& significant portion of India remains where it was a decade ago. In the coming decades, it willbe possible for us to grow only if this significant portion decides to take a part in the race. While

so much has been written, spoken and discussed about this revolution, there are ample proofs

that say that nothing has changed. This study will go further to find out whether we live in a new

world or whether we are 'ust the same old wine in a refurbished bottle. &t this 'uncture, it(s "uiteinteresting to note that old wine is far more valuable than the new one. India is a land of culture,

traditions, customs and strong foundations that has "uickly adapted to the revolutionary changes

that the western world has brought into our lives. )owever, till now, we have sustained and beengoing strong because of the strong foundations that we have been built upon. *ays are not far

when the new blood will be born without these foundations but some other foundations and

principles of life. In such a scenario, how does an economy adapt to deal with this new lot ofpeople that have a totally different approach to life+

These are perhaps reasons why the strong western economies collapsed. What does a nation dowhen most of its population is on the internet -x browsing websites like acebook+ )ow does

the nation bring about productivity+ What happens when the nation has to promise a minimum

wage irrespective of the type of work+ What happens when promises overtake logic on the

macroeconomic front+ & few such examples of results are before us / 0reece, Italy, 0ermany,

Portugal, etc. Time is not very far when India will be featured in this list if we continue to followthe progress of the western world. In such a scenario, how do our economic policies need to be

shaped+ Is it good for us to continue being the same old wine or should be bring in somethingnew and risk losing the value of the old wine+ The study will work on these areas to find out the

deeply hidden implications of the changes that the Indian economy is witnessing and will attempt

to point out what change will have what impact on the growth of the economy.

Review of Literature


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& large number of international institutions likePWC,KPMG,McKinsey, etc. have written about

the dynamics of the Indian economy. To mention a few,India from Midnight to MilleniumbyShashi Tharoor, The Idea of India by Sunil Khilnani, In spite of the Gods by Edward Luce,

India Unboundby Gurucharan Das, The Algebra of Infinite Justiceby Arundhati oy. 1ome

works like those byPWC, World !an", Central Asia Caucasus #nstitutenot only mention aboutthe pace of growth but also offer solutions to sustain growth as anything that goes up faces a

great risk of crashing. 0rowth bubbles created must be filled by the necessary stuff to energi2e

them into power generating resources lest they burst creating an economic depression like someof the greatest economies of the world have landed into. We have a huge volume of information,

advanced analytic highly processed statistics and highest levels of science ! technology

research studies but none of these over the decades have been able to alleviate the basic problems

of human life like poverty, unemployment, etc.

Rationale & Background

While nations like ours, 3hina, 4ra2il, 51 and the 56 are registering growth numbers, itsnations like 4hutan that have been hitting highs on the )appiness Index. *etails like this go to

prove that there is a missing link despite all the monetary planning, budgetary allocations,programs and plans to develop the economy. This study aims to discover such links that motivate

the actions, the thoughts behind them and the dreams that instigate these thoughts on to the

minds of the people. &fter all, it(s the people who ultimately move the economy. The0overnment policies and economy do play a role but the supremacy of the players will rule all

the time. The study will do a level deeper into analy2ing the growth numbers. It will not be

restricted to patterns of growth but will go into finding the reasons for such patterns of growth.

What will be the result of an economy where everyone is a millionaire+ What happens to theconstruction industry after all the roads are built and everyone has a house to live+ Who will

work as a plumber 7 cobbler 7 farmer if everyone is educated and wishes to run a business or be

employed in a ortune 899 company+ Though there has to be e"uality of labor, what will be thesituation if we practically treat all labor e"ually+ What will motivate people to become an

engineer or a doctor or a scientist if a sweeper has the same value as them+ 1uch are the

"uestions that the study plans to address.

&s a part of my 'ob as a banker over the years, I have been going through a lot of data and

research activities. There have been many instances where some of most advanced indices and

numbers appear "uite meaningless considering the economic scenario at those times. The stockmarkets react differently to the same set of numbers at different times. This behavior evidences

that there are logical gaps in the systems and processes that we follow. To eliminate such gaps,

we have to look into the roots from where these fruits :numbers; originate. The study aims toaccumulate knowledge through research on people, their lives, aims, aspirations, growth plans

and their thoughts on different instruments, financial and non financial, that play a vital role in

decision making process of the individuals and thereby define the nation(s economy. To "uote anexample, there has been a varied pattern in the retail mutual fund investments in India. While the

data might signify that people have lost interest in mutual funds and thereby, the capital markets,

the fact may be that people might not be finding a right way to invest into mutual funds as

SE!#7AM$# have put a tight cap on agent commissions and a large number of agents have "uite


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from the mutual fund sales business. 4anks might have seen this as an opportunity to sell

insurance products to the customers who look for mutual funds.


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What are the people(s thoughts on owning a house+ )ow do they plan to work on their

dreams+

What people think about money, banks, finances, investments, etc+

Who are the most important people in current day(s people(s lives+ )ow significant areparents in the relationship chain+ )ow such chains affect the national growth+

Is there a line drawn to define freedom+ )ow much freedom is free+

What do parents tell their children now+ What do they expect from their children+ What

do current generation of children expects from their children and what did the current

generation of parents expected, when they were children, from their parents+

3hanges in people(s tastes, eating habits, cooking habits, etc.

3hanges in people(s approach to topics like health, fitness, communication, shopping,

technology, sports, defense, national issues, politics, etc.

)ow do people decipher words like infrastructure, environment, agriculture, trade,

finances, credit policy, inflation, university, governance, poverty, etc. and how such

definitions varying define the "uality of life, standards of living, efforts of individuals,

decision making abilities and thereby, undoubtedly, the national growth.

urther, the most important ob'ective of the study will be to ascertain how these changes will

affect the nation(s growth in the long run. &fter all, changes in thoughts are ones that drive thenation over the long run. In one of the most advanced cities of the world,


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The study aims to apply these laws to such fields to which they have never been applied before.

The study will also make use of the basic laws of economics like 1upply ! *emand theories,

3apitalism ! 1ocialism theories, Efficient Carkets hypothesis,


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creating productive assets in rural areas and improving the overall "uality of rural life, could not

do much to solve these issues.

This is 'ust one case scenario to understand how important is this study that plans to go deeper

into the reasons behind such issues. or example, one reason might be that the farmers are lured

to sell their lands to the industries and housing societies who offer them a mouth watering deal.Though we say, >-armers are the bac"bone o- the nation(, the "uote is not as attractive enough

compared to the "uote :price; that the builders give the farmer to sell his land. What needs to be

done to motivate the farmers to continue their work+ 1uch are the "uestions that the study plansto address.

Thus, the study is very significant as it will help in understanding the underlying elements. &s

already mentioned, India is on a super fast road of growth and there are a lot of potholes !speed/breakers on the way. While making effort to remove all hurdles to make a smooth sailing

is the motto of the world and thereby, countries are called developed economies, the study will

rather do deep and might find out that it is wise to cover all the potholes but we need to have the

speed/breakers on the road to monitor the economic progress and be in a position to exercisecontrol over the nation. & lot will depend on the thoughts, actions and dreams of Indians in

deciding how far India will go.

Bibliogra"hy

Websites

o Wikipedia

o Planning 3ommission

o India 4udget

o 1E4I

o Fational Portal of India

=eports

o PW3 report on Indian Economy

o India report by 3ushman ! Wakefield

o The India %pportunity by 6PC0

o Ganagraha H 5rban 0overnance in India by Planning 3ommission

%thers


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o Times of India

o Economic Times

o 4usiness 1tandard

Research Proposal on Emerging Patterns of the Indian Economy

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