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This story is from February 15, 2006
Big Dreams
India needs to emulate China's vision of the future.
According to a blueprint drawn up by a research team with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, by 2050 China will have eradicated poverty, established itself as a world power in science and lifted the average lifespan of its billion-plus citizens to 80 years.
That's not all. If things go as planned, no one will be living below the current poverty line of an annual income of less than $83, everyone will have access to social services, the average income will rise to $1,300 a month, half the population will own cars and be able to afford overseas travel, and the country will be transformed from an agricultural society to a suburban, knowledge-based economy.
Also, Beijing's ultimate goal of moving some 500 million rural dwellers into industrial cities and 600 million city dwellers into high-tech suburban homes will be 80 per cent complete. Will China actually succeed in all this?
By its own admission the chances of success are only 6 per cent. But that's six times more than what they would have been if China had not dared to dream, and dream big about its future.
In comparison, in India we collectively don't seem to be able to dare to dream, let alone dream big. Indeed, if all the shortfalls in almost every sector from power generation, to road building, to primary healthcare and education are indicators, we persistently think small.
Which is why, by the time a 200 MW power plant has come up in a particular area, the local demand has gone up by 300 MW or more. Or why, by the time we build one new school, the need for schools has grown to 10.
Or why a highway designed to handle 10,000 vehicles a day, by the time it's up and running three years behind schedule, can't cope with the 1,00,000 vehicles which are on it.
We can never seem to anticipate the future. Which means we are condemned to live in the past, seeing everything from the perspective of a rearview mirror. It's high time we woke up. And started dreaming.
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