PROSPEROUS INDIA -4

Family System- Strength of Indian economy


Every society derives its character from its past. It is all the more true in the case of India, as she has very long of years of experience unmatched by the other societies in the world. Ever since the beginning, India has been trying to solve the problems relating to life through meaningful solutions. One of the major contributions of the country in this direction is the arrangement of the family system. Though the human beings in different parts of the world have been living closely as families and groups, it is here that the system got its unique character.

The family system is not just a social and cultural institution. Family is the basis of the economy of a country. The fundamentals of an economy, its sustenance and development depend on the strength of the family system. Wherever the family systems are strong, societies prosper. Wherever the families are weak, such societies go down. The major reason for India remaining as the most powerful economy during the earlier periods for hundreds of years since the ancient days and emerging once again now as a major power after two centuries of alien onslaught and internal confusions is the family system rooted in the great cultural traditions of this land. The reason why the western economies are facing serious crises in the recent years is the weakening of their family system and breaking up of the institution. 

For any country to sustain itself, more of its citizens should engage in productive economic activities. For more and more development, maximum efforts should be made continuously at different levels. The strong family system in India compels people to engage in one or the other economic activities. It may be doing something on one’s own or going for work. Every parent in India thinks that it is his/her duty to save as much money as possible so that the future of the family and children is safe and secure. Hence they take up some work or engage in any venture, however small it might be, so that they would be able better the prospects of the family and the near and dear ones. With the future of the family in mind, parents forgo their needs, sacrifice their comforts and make necessary arrangements to see that their children live happily in the days to come. They try to educate their children in the best possible institutions and put up ventures with the idea to reap good returns when the younger ones become ready to manage them. 

The story of independent India is revealing. When India became free in 1947, about 45 per cent of the population was living below poverty line. Around 17 per cent was the literacy rate. The industrial and business sectors were very weak, with the economy subjected to large scale destruction during the British domination, driving most of the people into agriculture and making it unviable with narrow minded policies. But now after 63 years, the situation is totally different. Though the country has serious problems to address, India has changed a lot and is fast emerging as a dominant power in the world. Countries across the world have started looking at India as a model economy. 

Industrial and business sectors have grown manifold during these years. Business enterprises have been coming up at different levels, driving the economy towards growth. At the smallest level, Economic Census 2005 notes that there were 41.83 million enterprises across the country in the unorganized sector. Taking of small scale industries, there were about 13.37 million units during 2007-08 (Reserve Bank of India, 2008-09). As for the bigger units, Govt. of India notes that there were 7, 86,774 companies in the country as on March 31, 2009 (Ministry of Corporate Affairs, New Delhi). Many Indian companies are now becoming multinationals with their operations extending to different parts of the globe. There are more than 2000 industrial and business clusters in the country that facilitates the operations of thousands of units in a variety of activities. Many of them have high turnovers with presence at the national and international levels. The turnover of Surat diamond cluster, for example, was Rs.80000 crores. As a result, Indian businesses have been getting world-wide recognition during the recent periods.

The achievements of India in the intellectual fields are by no means small. Today many Indians are occupying the top positions in the educational, corporate, technical and scientific fields in the western countries. Educational institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institutes of Management have attained global recognition. India is one of the top ten countries in services exports. In terms of numbers, the graduates coming out of the universities in India have been increasing every year, with one of the highest turnouts in the world.

Indian economy has been basically driven by these developments in the industrial and service sectors during the last six decades. This was possible mainly due to the efforts of families across the country. Many ventures started as small initiatives with little capital have become bigger units now, functioning at the regional, national and even global levels. Their contribution in terms of turnover, employment, exports have been increasing every year. Similarly the qualifications gained by most of our people at the local levels by the government run and smaller institutions have catapulted many to higher positions in life through hard work. It also enabled many of them to emerge as successful professionals and entrepreneurs to reach higher levels in their spheres of activities. 

For developments at the macro-levels more funds are required for investments. Many countries are constrained to invest as they lack the required resources. The western countries prefer more borrowing outside, but as the recent experiences prove their economies are in serious difficulties. But India has no such problem, as it is in the inherent nature of the people to save money. Saving is emphasized as part of life in the Indian system and elders in the family inculcate this habit in the minds of youngsters from their early stages of life. Hence families save huge amounts of money enabling the government, business organizations and entrepreneurs to make investments in profitable avenues. 

So the growth of Indian economy during the last sixty plus years was made possible by the efforts of the families by engaging in productive activities, promoting new ventures and saving funds wherever possible. In this connection we have to recognize the significance of the time-tested Indian family system for all our economic performance and achievements. 



References:

1. Economic Census 2005, Govt. of India

2. Handbook of Statistics on the Indian Economy 2008-09, Reserve Bank of India

3. Annual Report 2008-09, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Govt. of India



( Yuva Bharati – Voice of Youth, Vivekananda Kendra, August 2010 issue)