India’s moment of truth

Despite the Global Financial Crisis, India has continued along a path of impressive economic growth, writes Peter Drysdale on East Asia Forum. Like China, India emerged largely unscathed from the impact of global financial meltdown to grow at an impressive 6.7 per cent in 2008-09. This was a performance that ranked second only to China?s: although lower than the 9 per cent growth achieved in the three years immediately before. In 2009-10, the growth rate was 7.2 per cent and it appears likely to be over 8 per cent in 2010-11. As Govinda Rao argues in this week's lead essay India's impressive economic performance shows the strength of Indian economy. India escaped the global financial contagion as the Indian banking sector was not exposed to sub-prime lending and risky assets. But India's continued good performance also demonstrates its domestic economic resilience, with growth fuelled by the high rates of domestic savings and investment. Rajiv Kumar writes this week that last year was also one of highs and lows for India, symbolic of the terrible choices that India's leaders now confront in defining the country's destiny in the decades ahead. India has taken its place within the councils of the world. Since November 2008, it has sat at the G20 summit. In the last six months the heads of government of all five UN Security Council members have visited Delhi; India has hosted the prime ministers of the United Kingdom and China and the Presidents of the United States, France and Russia. Most countries, including Japan and Germany but not yet China, acknowledge India's claim to permanent membership of the Security Council. The rush to pay tribute to New Delhi is palpable. India has arrived, so it seems, on the centre of the global stage. Read the full story at East Asia Forum.