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Expert on economy of India to speak Oct. 31

Relaxed regs mean business upswing

India’s rapidly growing econo­my can be seen everywhere in the United States -- a topic to be discussed Wednesday, Oct. 31, by Indian economic expert Shashanka Bhide.

2007-10-29
By Amanda Dyslin, Free Press Staff Writer [published in The Free Press, Mankato, MN, 10/28/2007]

Proof of India’s rapidly growing econo­my can be seen pretty much everywhere in the U.S., includ­ing out the car window when driving by the enormous windmills dotting the country­side.

Many of them are exported from India, which is seeing a 9 to 9 1 ⁄ 2 percent growth in its economy annually. In the next 30 years, India is expected to be the third largest economy in the world, said Ved Sharma of the Economics Department at Minnesota State University.

That’s why the department thought it would be a good time to bring in Shashanka Bhide, an expert on India’s economy who can expand on the causes of the rapid growth. The visit is timely, as MSU President Richard Davenport was in India this week as part of Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s 10- day trade mis­sion to the country.

Davenport was visiting uni­versities and exploring oppor­tunities for educational part­nerships. Bhide assisted Davenport with his visit.

Bhide, of India’s National Council of Applied Economic Research, will give a lecture at 3 p.m. Wednesday in Room 101 of Armstrong Hall. The talk is free and open to the public.

Among the causes for India’s rapid growth are the lack of economic regulations, Sharma said. Until the early 1990s, excessive bureaucracy limited industries’ free enter­prise ability to operate and various limitations were in place for imports and exports. “All this control over the economy was putting con­straints on the economy,” Sharma said.

The outlook was so bleak, the country was expected to start defaulting on interna­tional loans. So much of the economic control was lifted. Advances in technology also have helped make improve­ments.

“Once those things were done, the economy started to look up rapidly,” he said.

India and the United States have formed a mutual partner­ship, employing each other’s citizens and importing and exporting each other’s goods, Sharma said.

Bhide is an author of numerous articles about India’s economy and has a doctorate in agricultural eco­nomics. He has done research in macroeconomic modeling, agriculture and economic development.

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