Don't Believe the India Hype

摘要

NDIANS ARE GOING to thepolls to elect a new govern-ment. The Congress partyis standing on the record ofthe government it has ledsince 2004. But elections are taking placewhen the Indian economy has taken asharp turn for the worse, in a climate ofglobal economic crisis. This exposes thepathetic, do-nothing, zero-reform recordof Prime Minister Manmohan Singh andhis government. More generally, it laysbare India's huge reform gaps and its brit-tle, decaying institutions. Finally, it de-flates the "India Hype" peddled bysmooth-talking, upper-caste politicians,ambassadors, businessmen, managementconsultants and indeed some academics.