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NEW DELHI: India, which celebrated its 58th
anniversary as a republic yesterday, January 26, may be registering
blistering rates of growth but only three percent of its people
understand the economic reforms being implemented and most think
they have benefited only the rich, said a survey.
“Seventy-two percent of Indians
were unaware of the economic changes that the country has been going
through since 1991” when India launched market reforms, said the
survey published in the Hindustan Times.
Sixty-two percent also felt the
changes in economic policy benefited only the rich, said the poll by
the New Delhi-based Center for the Study of Developing Societies for
the Hindustan Times and news channel CNN-IBN.
The survey questioned 7,681
people across 19 states of India.
It found that only 28 percent of
Indians had heard of economic reforms while “most did not have
even a rough idea of the broad directions of the policy changes.”
Despite this lack of awareness of
the reforms, 56 percent said India’s economy had improved in the
past decade while 46 percent said their family’s economic
situation had improved since 1991.
India liberalized its economy in
1991 when Manmohan Singh, who is now India’s prime minister,
served as the country’s finance minister.
Sixteen years of reforms have
seen revolutionary changes in Indian industry, with government
figures showing 9.1 percent economic growth in the first six months
of 2006 led by strong manufacturing growth.
But agriculture, which employs
two-thirds of India’s work force, has remained stagnant at less
than two percent growth.
Other findings of the survey said
India’s public were opposed to privatization of state-run
companies, a view supported by the Indian government’s communist
allies.
There was also overwhelming
agreement among the Indian public that essential services including
electricity, water, road transport and schools should be run by the
government and not by private groups, the survey said.
India deployed thousands of
troops and cut access to the center of its capital for the grand to
celebrate the country’s Republic Day.
“We have made very elaborate
and fail-proof arrangements,” senior Delhi police officer Dependra
Pathak told AFP of the celebrations, at which Russian President
Vladimir Putin was the guest of honor.
The parade included a display of
military hardware and cultural performers as well as brass bands.
Putin’s presence was seen as
Russia’s effort to revitalize ties between the two Cold War allies
in the face of New Delhi’s warming partnership with the United
States.
--AFP
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