Indian economy to grow at 8 percent?

By: Subhadeep Bhattacharjee

For all those who are concerned about facts and figures the Indian economy will grow by 8% in the upcoming financial year. Well that's what the Government believes and that's what President Prathiba Patil said while addressing the joint session of the Parliament ahead of the Budget Session of the parliament. President Patil also said that providing relief to 'aam admi' from high food prices will be her government's top priority.

This might bring in cheers to many faces but the question arises in whether this growth in totality making India a better country. On one hand we are striving to become one of the superpowers in the world while on the other we have the largest number of people living below the poverty line anywhere in the world. Our figures on poverty are even worst that some of the Sub-Saharan nations according to many international agencies.

Our basic health care system especially in the rural areas is in a pathetic condition. This is quite an irony for a country which is becoming a destination for 'health tourism.' Does the growth in the GDP mean anything to these deprived people? Can the growth in the GDP rate or the sensex douse the hunger in a common man's life? How much of the GDP is the government willing to pump into the Social Sector to narrow the gap between India and Bharat.

The rise of the left wing extremism in the last decade has been a slap on the face of the nation which was going gaga over the country's economic growth. Government and various non-governmental organisations woke up to the apathy of people in these backward areas only after these people had been brain-washed by the Left Wing terror groups. The results are for all of us to see and Left Wing terror seems to be more threatening than the militancy in Jammu & Kashmir and the North-East.

Do these figures mean anything to even a middle class Indian? The effective inflation on the ground is almost double than what the government claims it to be. This ironically in a period when India hasn't fully emerged from the financial meltdown. So has our economy and GRD growth practically made our life better or is it mere statistics?