Each of the Indian states should have its own economic programme to achieve better growth, Managing Director and Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at The Brookings Institute William J Antholis has said.
Answering questions after his talk on ‘Inside Out, India and China: Local Politics Go Global,’ organised by the US Consulate General, Hyderabad, in partnership with CII on Wednesday evening, he said India has strong state-level drivers playing their role in its growth. He cited the good work done by Nitish Kumar in Bihar where he concentrated on roads, primary education, law an order and cross-caste economic development.
Mr. Antholis said in his model of development, prior to his ascent as Prime Minister, Narendra Modi had focused on industrialisation, energy sector and water and power to each district in Gujarat as Chief Minister. And he has not ignored countryside. Referring to Andhra Pradesh, he said with 60 to 65 per cent of population still in countryside, that sector should be paid due attention.
Mr. Antholis spent five months in 2012 visiting 20 states and provinces in India and China and wrote the book ‘Inside out, India and China: Local Politics go global.’
Rise of strong leaders The rise of two strong leaders, Chinese President Xi Jinpong and Mr. Modi, has brought a sense of energy and economic optimism to their respective countries going through a downturn from their economic highs witnessed in the past.
In India, the agenda for trade was set by MNCs right from multi-brand retail to power companies, he said during the interaction. Small and medium size investors should explore opportunities, he felt.
In China, in spite of its top down approach to politics, economic decentralisation rested on provincial decision-making. However, Mr. Antholis described the Chinese growth model as having urbanisation as the magnet moving 1.25 million people to cities every month, heavy dependence on real estate growth, mostly controlled by the government. Seventy per cent of all power came from coal. “I can’t think of going out for running in Chinese cities while I could do that in India,” he said highlighting the pollution there.
Guandong and there other coastal provinces accounted 80 per cent of the Chinese exports, he pointed out. Visakhapatnam Port Trust Deputy Chairman and CII Visakhapatnam zone Chairman G.V.L. Satya Kumar, who welcomed, described Mr. Antholis as a multi-faceted personality.
