Response to terror will decide India's economic future

THE ECONOMIC TIMES - BusinessWeek


By JACH and SUZY WELCH
Published 3 Dec 2008

Of the 200-odd past columns posted on our Web site, few elicit more comments than "Who Will Rule the 21st Century?"—a piece we wrote in 2007 that predicted continued US economic leadership, with India and China coming into parity in a matter of decades. As for which country would offer better chances for investors, we essentially took a pass, saying that the answer hinged on how well India and China capitalized on their huge advantages and handled their complex challenges.
Since that column appeared, a week hasn't gone by without at least a dozen questions continuing to press the matter. Readers often ask where foreign direct investors should place their bets: China, India, or if both, in what measure? Usually, we just set these questions aside. There wasn't much more, we reasoned, that we could say.

Sadly, with the terrorist attacks in Mumbai this week, there now is. more