Slowing Dragon; Crouching Tiger!

Posted on September 26, 2014
Location: London
Slowing Dragon; Crouching Tiger!

We are instructed from the very early age that if we want to succeed in life, we should implement prudence and consider the cost of our conduct before we make progress. If people really thought long and hard before they did anything, there would be no surprises, drama or adventure.

Not just a person, a group but the bulk of the preceding generation perhaps thought in that line, preferred risk-averseness over risk-taking attitude. As a result; pace of India’s economy was as sluggish as the references made to us Indian... a country of snake charmers, street dogs, rubbish eating abandoned cows on the road and what not!

Until recently; every ruling government found pleasing and pleading western leadership for various internal and external matters, as if our progress was very much dependent on the kindness of other wealthy and powerful nations.

China on the other hand, has built everything based on  its own strengths, proving its efficiency and competitive power.

Why is that then, the world leadership are found lobbying around India so much AND not so much with China? Shouldn’t they? Political leaders of many influential nations have either paid personal visit to newly appointed Prime Minister of India or have duly requested him to visit their country ASAP. What is that which India has, and China has not? This is because since ancient ages, we have been taught to salute the rising Sun, which is India today.

Today, India is a young nation . We have 605 million people below the age of 25, while in the age group 10-19, poised for higher education, we have 225 million. This means that for the next 40 years we would have a youthful, dynamic and productive workforce when the rest of the world, including China, is aging. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has predicted that by 2020, India will have 116 million workers in the work-starting age bracket of 20 to 24 years, as compared to China's 94 million. 

It is further estimated that the average age in India by the year 2020 will be 29 years as against 40 years in the USA, 46 years in Europe and 47 years in Japan.  In fact, in 20 years the labour force in the industrialised world will decline by 4%, in China by 5%, while in India it will increase by 32%. And the IMF, in 2011, reported that India's demographic dividend has the potential to add 2 percentage points per annum to India's per capita GDP growth over the next two decades. 

Most of the magical and rewarding experiences of us as a country will come as a direct result of ignoring cautiousness, and acting out of wild passion and reckless drive. We have nothing to loose. We need to stand up to our potential. Our potential lies in our self-belief, collective strength and wholesome merits.

  • The Mangalyaan mission costed India $73 million (~Rs.450 crores) which is even cheaper than the budget of film “Gravity” which was about $105 million.
  • Mangalyaan will observe the environment of Mars and look for various elements like methane (marsh gas), which is a possible indicator of life.
  • It will also look for Deuterium-Hydroden ratio and other neutral constants.
  • The orbiter weighs 1,350-kg, which is even less than the weight of an average sports utility vehicle.
  • The manufacturing of Mangalyaan took 15 months while NASA took five years to complete MAVEN.
  • Mangalyaan is the first spacecraft to be launched outside the Earth’s sphere of influence by ISRO in its entire history of 44 years.
  • ISRO will be the fourth space agency in the world after National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the US, Russian Federal Space Agency (RFSA) and European Space Agency to have successfully undertaken a mission to Mars.

Bikash MohantyBikash Mohanty"Welcome to my website!
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