Comments on: Moving Up in Mumbai

By: Yuxiang Gao

Yuxiang Gao — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 03:37:46 +0000

As what Alex mentioned in his comment,
“In contrast to China, where wealth spread as rural labor moved from farming to manufacturing, India’s growth is being led by a sharp rise in domestic consumption.”
The India economy system just looks like usa’s.
Chinese government tried so hard to find the new economic growth point based on rise in domestic consumption, but because of culture fator, it doesn.t work at all.
It looks like India doesn’t have this kind problem,
Transforming into a consumption based economy. This could actually be advantageous to India .The attitudes of money are becoming more and more open in India, whcih make it the country grows more prosperous than before.

By: Matthew Perez

Matthew Perez — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:45:08 +0000

Being living proof of the American Dream, I am very glad that a similar idea is taking root in India. Although the WSJ article provides some details of the increase in consumerism in the country, I think a better indicator of growth in economic benefits in India is the increase corporate presence in India. The Big Three of luxury German automakers (Audi, BMW, and Mercedes Benz) have recently built manufacturing facilities in India specifically to produce cars for their market. Granted, this was done partly to get around the massive tariffs on imports but it demonstrates the viability of the Indian automotive market. Coca-Cola has done a similar thing in their purchase of a local cola manufacture in India to increase their presence in the country. The fact that these companies are no longer outsourcing to India but specifically building product for the Indian market is a testament to the success of many people in India.

By: Leslie Mann

Leslie Mann — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 06:22:25 +0000

Hope does spring eternal. The “American Dream” or what we think of it as has dwindled in our present day and as Simeon pointed out perhaps “Indian Dream” is more appropriate. India’s middle class is growing at a fast pace and with over 2.5 million new jobs created by the retail sector alone, the future of the Indian economy is very hopeful. It is shocking to learn that only 7% of the population is enrolled in higher education, but with this continued growth, the number is sure to rise, hopefully at a rate similar to the middle class. The last paragraph of the article, I think, is one of the most important. Mr. Bahtade was promoted and will now be training others with the skills he has acquired. This is what the “Indian Dream” is all about.

By: Michael Harroch

Michael Harroch — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 01:46:49 +0000

As someone who has recently moved to the Untied States, this phenomenon is reminiscent of this fascinating concept called the “American Dream” (although I say this with a little sarcasm, I think an equivalent lacks in France, and this can be seen in people’s pessimism about economical advancement). Namely, just like in the United States, it seems like there is a now belief among the Indian lower class that anyone can go out and achieve, all it takes is will power and hard work.
Whether true or not, I find that this belief encourages people to take bold initiatives with their careers, which is a good thing for them and for society as a whole.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:49:41 +0000

From researching a blog about the 1st (and only) Wal-Mart in India, it’s apparent to me that new business models like the Best Price Modern Wholesale (Wal-Mart) is giving hope to people, not only those who are employed by them but also those who shop there.

In detailing the experiences of one girl from a nearby village that was positively affected by this new business, an article discussed how she, being the youngest of 3 girls, could have easily followed her sisters footsteps by marrying early, having children, and serving her family. Instead the girl attended the Punjab-Bharti Wal-Mart Training Center, graduated and went to work for the store. She won an internal dance contest where the prize was a free trip to the United States, and now she’s enrolled for an MBA degree from Indira Gandhi National Open University.

Stories like this show that there is progress being made, That India is on the right path…they are making good choices.

Hope springs eternal in the human breast….

By: Frederick Peemoeller

Frederick Peemoeller — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:37:34 +0000

I can’t believe the wealth of only .2% of the country is enough to increase jobs by 2.5 million! This trickle down effect has an amazing ability to stimulate an economy. With more people finding higher paying retail jobs that teach them communication and business skills, it seems that it could give these people hope to make even more money. That sort of incentive could cause more people to try to get educated or even start their own business. As the country continues to strengthen economically, this sort of trickle down effect will increase, and hopefully a rags to riches mentality can be brought about in the country.

By: Jordan Wente

Jordan Wente — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:35:26 +0000

You have to start somewhere. India is just recently reforming its economy and progress is slow but steady. We can’t expect poverty to disappear overnight but as the middle class continues to grow more and more opportunities will trickle down to the poor living in the cities and eventually through out the country. Based on this post, the trickle down effect is already occurring and providing hope to many impoverished people. In my opinion this hope for a brighter future will become a major influence on many people allowing a shift to occur which will place more importance on education. The confidence, communication and other skills developed through new employment opportunities will be valuable to an individual’s decision to seek further education.
The quote about looking for money can be true of any society, even here in the United States. Once you start thinking about survival, education becomes an unrealistic option for most people. Now that the country is experiencing economic success it might be time for the government to place a greater importance on educating its population. India’s large population is one of its greatest assets. I think that now is the time to heavily invest in this asset, placing importance not only on higher education but also on primary education. This will allow the economy to see continued growth and development.
I agree with Michael that India should stimulate the growth of consumption. I think that in order to do this they need to build a bigger consumer base. Since most of the new wealth is given to individuals with an education, it make sense that investing in education will also result in increased consumption.

By: Michael Minasian

Michael Minasian — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:50:06 +0000

This is an interesting look at how to get out of a poverty situation. I definitely agree with Simeon’s assessment of the best way to try to move people out of poverty. It seems as though there may be some way to increase the pace of the development. It seems that the government should be doing something to stimulate growth of consumption by incentivizing businesses who serve the middle class to grow and to open. This will perpetuate the domino effect that Simeon talks about.

By: Erika Bylund

Erika Bylund — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:17:24 +0000

I’m right now in the middle of reading “The Elephant and the Dragon” by Robyn Meredith. I’m learning a lot from the book because the author goes into the history of India, including the early twentieth century. She traces the political, social, and economic history of the country to the current times, illustrating how the country has evolved to its current economic potential.

In India, with this emerging opportunity to be “middle-class,” there is a better life to which the poor can aspire and feasibly hope to attain. This will be a power driving force for India’s move toward becoming a developed nation because there is incentive. Poverty is one thing; but ABJECT poverty is a whole different story.

At one point, almost every country has experienced “depression” periods, and I think it is easy to take our opportunities for granted because we (and the last two generations) here in the U.S. have not really experienced being limited in our options. There has been very little struggle to have opportunities available because our country had the luxury of being founded with those opportunities “built in” as a right from the country’s founding. The other differentiating factor is that we have a government and a body of constituents that recognize the authority of our Constitution and Bill of Rights. With the exception of the Civil War, our country has not had lasting debilitating problems with dissention, government corruption, or property rights. These freedoms we have are what give us seemingly limitless opportunity, and it is in this opportunity that we have hope. It is what drives us to achieve, do, be, and have because we can and we have very few barriers.

By: Jason Silver

Jason Silver — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 18:40:38 +0000

It is remarkable to see how the country of India is pulling itself up out of the poverty it is faced with. More jobs to service the middle class is a clear indicator that India is growing economically. The ability for poverty stricken people to work their way into a better life is very similar to “The American Dream”. This “Indian Dream” includes multitudes of poor families finding jobs sustaining the lifestyles of India’s emerging middle class.

The poor work to feed and provide the best living situation possible for their families. At this point in India’s economic development, India’s poor class can really take advantage of this opportunity.

Aspirations of leading a better life is no longer considered wishful thinking, but an actual reality. In Mumbai, with an estimated population of close to 13.7 million people, getting entry level jobs with a steady paycheck, will certainly turn around the fortunes of many poor families and will in turn boost the Indian economy even further.