The Great Indian Dream

It is quite incredible how within a decade the image of an Indian has been transformed from a snake charmer to the 'brown guy who fixes our computer'. It is testimony to the fact that the if the government does not poke its nose into certain area, the enterpreneurship of the ordinary folks can change things dramatically. I am referring to the tech boom in India.

But there is another side to this story. What these tech companies are doing is this: they are providing cheap skilled labor for companies in the west, mainly the US. So the services that they are providing are meant to make things better and simpler for people in these countries. But is this not too volatile? I mean, if tomorrow Timbektu starts providing services at 1/20 th price to the Americans, instead of almost 1/10 th that Indians do, what will happen to the tech sector in India? On a more pointed basis, is this a tech "bubble" in India that we are seeing? That might turn out to be the end of the Great Indian Dream.

I am saying this because history has not been kind to economies that sustain on exports only. Look at what happend to Japan or for that matter Brazil. From being the next big thing, they are now reduced to stagnant economies. It is important that India develops a domestic market for its own goods and services, because that is what will create the benefits to the society for a long term. It is important that India make full use of the relative prosperity caused by this tech boom to creat a domestic market which can sustain bulk of both manufacturing as well as services industry. Otherwise, we shall miss the bus. Once again!