Indian econmist sees the 'full picture'

Sometimes we just need to look at the bigger picture. That's the approach Narayanan Vaghul, chairperson of the Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India, believes his country should be taking in engaging in its economic reforms. Vaghul spoke Thursday night in a talk entitled: "India's Economic Reforms: Political, Social and Cultural Overview" in the 3401 Walnut Street complex. The talk focused on Vaghul's view that the economic issues surrounding India today will not be resolved unless the government makes an effort to understand these issues in their appropriate political, social and cultural contexts. Vaghul began by explaining the present economic situation in India, lauding the great improvement the economy has made over the past decade. "The economy seems to be on a bend," Vaghul said, noting India's increasing gross domestic product, high consumer growth rate, low inflation and stable currency. "For the first time, political consciousness is arising in economic issues," Vaghul said, showing that the government is now beginning to actively engage itself in its nation's economic reforms. Despite the immense economic growth India has undergone, however, Vaghul also pointed out the economic problems the country currently faces, wearily noting that, "there is also a shadow of underlying concern" about economic growth. His biggest concern was India's growing fiscal deficit, which is currently reported to be 6 percent but is likely to rise in the future. While Vaghul spent much of the lecture outlining India's economic problems, he emphasized the importance of evaluating them in a larger context. "We look at the reform process as economic," Vaghul said. "But we have not applied it to social sector reform." In addition to India's economic woes, the country also faces more fundamental problems in its society, such as low literacy and high infant mortality rates, he added. Vaghul also proposed a solution -- to look at the full scope of issues. "Nobody [in India] sees the full picture," Vaghul said, emphasizing the need for people to understand the reforms must take place not only in economics, but in the social sector as well. In addition to defining reform, Vaghul noted India's need for a leader who can "make the common man be able to identify with the reform process" in order for the masses to be supportive of government reforms. Vaghul concluded by explaining that successful reforms could also be brought about when a judiciary and legislature are created for the purpose of reform and "ensure that reforms are translated into reality." Vaghul is the second speaker of the Center for the Advanced Study of India's 1999 Annual Lecture Series, "India and the Global Economy." The series invites eminent speakers to the University who have an inside view of India's international economic strategy. CASI and the lecture series are coordinated by Political Science Professor Francine Frankel.