Till the beginning of the 21st century, the whole world was influenced by the functioning of unilateral markets that had its own stringent set of protocols. Later on, this functioning underwent a sea change with the introduction of multilateral markets providing a new dimension to the world order.
The developing nations, especially from various pockets of Asia had a lot of advantage in this new order. It meant being liberal and open to trade and markets from various corners of the world. Starting from 1992, under the leadership of the then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao, who is also considered as the architect of the modern economic structure of our country, India saw many structural and politically influenced economic reforms come true.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A slice of history
India was ruled by the British for almost a century and when it was finally set free from its clutches, it had to stand on its own to prove its stance to the world. At that point of time, most of the countries came under the influence of the western countries.
India known to be culturally advanced in multi aspects found it very difficult to accept the dictates of the western world order, yet came under its influence. In spite of these influences around, India strived to form its own economic order to become the largest democracy in the world.
From time immemorial, Indian culture, philosophies, religious beliefs, socio cultural emphasis has always been of much talk in the whole of Asia and to the rest of the world as well. Our age old customs and practices have taught the world what it didn’t know.
Aryabhata taught the world the value of zero. Shushrutha introduced the world to the science of surgery. Our culture and rich heritage have anecdotes of famous kings and personalities that revolved the world around them and taught them to visualise life from different dimensions.
Be it the famous paintings of Raja Ravi Verma or the stone carvings in Ajanta – Ellora, the architectural marvel Taj Mahal and similarly specialised architectural marvels, our country has always dominated in every field possible in history.
Our contribution to the field of science is made remarkable with great scientists to the world like Sir C V Raman, J C Bose to name a few. The greatest religions of the world have their origins based in our country and we can find secular co-existence of religions even today. We have always practised peace, communal harmony and brotherhood as the base of our existence.
New political and economic equations
Our country unfortunately suffered a lot after the British left our country in shackles. The dark terror of partition continues to haunt our countrymen even to this day. Amidst all this came the different tastes of political colors and communal tensions and inner fight between countrymen on secular lines.
Yet, India still remains the biggest democracy in the world even to this day and it has strived to teach the world its model of political governance. A government of the people, that is elected by the people and for the people can’t be found anywhere else at this elevated level of socio-political standards. India’s immediate neighbours have always tried to influence from our own model of constitutional framework.
In the midst of selfish gains from the kind of new philosophies that the world in coming under, the many faces of an aristocratic supremacy world order is to be treated well with the richness of our own cultural heritage.
The year 2008 saw the whole world sink in a global economic crisis. Many countries suffered under the effects of the crisis, yet India was able to maintain its stable relations with the world and continued to perform its business by plunging ahead of the crisis.
When the UNO was established in the year 1944, UN Security Council had 5 permanent members in its council to deal with matters of war and peace. These 5 members exercised veto power, but developing nations like India and others were far flung from this scenario with limited accessibility. With the emergence of multilateral institutions like IMF and World Bank, the situation changed remarkably.
As on today, our country is leading its way and other developing nations influencing its powers on others to make trade and business relations better connected with the rest of the world order. India is still not a permanent member in the UNSC. Rapidly expanding businesses in India, China and Russia have shifted the focus from the west to the eastern part of the world now. Many
Asian countries including India have forecasted steady GDP rises every year and are being adjudged as forecasters of change and reformation in the changing world order. As a result, we can also see the flip side of business meaning immigration laws being deferentially made more stringent for developing countries like India. Trade rules were previously biased towards the west which is gradually changing and sliding towards the east.
Emerging new order and India
Be it the European counties, the Middle East or the Asia Pacific, the demographic dividend and the advantageous positioning of the country have always worked in its favor when it came to performing trade and business transactions with the rest of the world. It also raised the bar on sustenance based on its key principles of maintaining excellent business tranquillises and value systems with different landscapes of the world order.
The wheel of technology in India especially the part of business outsourcing made a significant change to the way the world saw India in the technological sphere.
The implications of globalisation in India meant increased foreign direct investments (FDI), the emerging new pathway that cleared hurdles towards performing business with ease and a better strategic and dynamic position against its tough competitor China. Free trade agreements like BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal initiative for multi sectoral, technical and economic co-operation) have elevated trade relations and the reach of doing business in favor of India.
Amidst the many concerns of performing global business arises a very valid question of the preparedness of India in its global leadership role. At many international trade and national/international summits, a seemingly dominant and elevated level can be found of India on the international map.
India has emerged in taking a giant leap forward in the way it is performing business and proving itself systematically in its skilled leadership role. Yet the global challenges of security, terrorism and cross border tensions continue to question the preparedness of our nation and how it is going to skilfully administer its tactics in solving them.
Conclusion
India has come a long way since its colonisation days and is one of the fastest developing economies of the world. On the flip side, there are many internal issues like the emerging of huge income gaps between different population groups that is creating a dent on its image.
The security of women is questionable, female feticide, harassment and rape cases continue to create social barriers within the country. A free minded India with a liberal and progressive touch is going to create the much needed image of a new India. The strive for excellence in national interest is of utmost concern and importance to India owing to its emerging global leadership.