E.M. Forster’s book relates to “colonial India” of old, a romantic time of slothful growth, mind-bending bureaucracy and suffocating red-tape – a constant reminder of India before independence in 1947 in contrast with life after liberalisation in the 1990s.
The new India that had emerged by 2000 was robust and bursting in optimism. Of late, the magic appears to have slipped. After Chinese New Year, I wrote in this column: “India Outlook Dims” (Feb 23) concluding in effect that India’s sluggish “Hindu rate of growth” (Economist) is self-inflicted in the face of an unmanageable bureaucracy and politics at its worst. Events have since moved swiftly. An update is due as India’s once booming economy slides into a deep sleep. India’s default risk is rising the most among emerging markets as it bucks a regional trend of budget tightening and reform, raising the prospect of a junk debt rating as the rupee (its currency) plunges to new lows.
Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.
