Problems facing India today: Overpopulation, Illiteracy, Corruption

[Kofi]

India is one of the poorest countries in the world. The poverty in India isn't just psycological poverty. The poverty in India isn't just emotional poverty. The poverty in India isn't just social poverty. The poverty in India isn't just religious and cultural poverty. The poverty in India is an absolute poverty. The poverty in India involves poverty in every aspect of life.
We all knew India is a very poor country although not so many of us knew how extreme the poverty level was in India. Now it is very clear how extreme poverty is in India. Now it is very clear how poor some Indians are. Now it is very clear how people continue to die from absolute poverty and hunger in India despite numerous efforts to help fight poverty in the world.

A new multidimensional poverty Index shows that India is far poorer than Africa in both intensity and in number.
The Multidimensional Poverty Index developed by Oxford University (which will appear in the upcoming UNDP human development report) shows that India is far poorer than Africa not just in number but also in intensity.
The new poverty measure shows that 8 states out of the 29 states in India have more poor people than 26 poorest African countries combined.
The Multidimensional poverty index views poverty from several different angles instead of just GDP figures.

India like any other developing country is crippled by so many problems. For example, India's population growth rate is increasing by the day putting pressure on the limited resources and leaving many Indians in absolute poverty.

India is very poor in terms of education, in terms of economic improvement, infrastructure, heath care, etc. Here are some of the problems facing India today. In today's India, there is nothing but:

1. HIGH INFLATION RATES.

High inflation rates continue to drag the entire Indian economy down the poverty pit. Here is something I found online while searching.

" ...Inflation in India is an increasing problem. Inflation is currently between 6-7%. A record 98% of Indian firms report operating close to full capacity With economic growth of 9.2% per anum. Inflationary pressures are likely to increase especially with supply side constraints such as infrastructure. The wholesale-price index (WPI) rose to an annual 6.6% in January 2007".

With these high inflation rates, India cannot experience any major growth even in the future.

2. POOR GIRL CHILD EDUCATION

Just like some poor countries in Africa, high illiteracy rates continue to tear India into pieces. Majority of females in India today cannot even read and write which is very sad. Here is what I found online:

"Illiteracy in India is worse in rural areas and amongst women. Over 50% of Indian women are illiterates."

In other words, more than 50% of females above age 15 in India today cannot even read and write. very similar to countries like Niger in Sub-Saharan Africa.

3. POOR INFRASTRUCTURE

Basic sanitation appears to be a major problem in almost all developing countries and India is no exception. Considering the population explosion and the high social pressures on the few available amenities in India today, this major problem seems worse in certain parts of India than even in Africa's top 10 poorest countries. This is what I found online:

"...Many Indians lack basic amenities like access to running water. Indian public services are creaking under the strain of bureaucracy and inefficiency. Over 40% of Indian fruits rot before they reach the market; this is one example of the supply constraints and inefficiencies facing the Indian economy".

4. BALANCE OF PAYMENT DETERIORATION

Although India has built up large amounts of foreign currency reserves, the current account deficit has deteriorated in recent months. This deterioration is a result of the overheating of the economy. Aggregate Supply cannot meet Aggregate demand so consumers are sucking in imports. Excluding workers remittances. India’s current account deficit is approaching 5% of GDP

5. HIGH LEVELS OF DEBTS
High debt problems also appears to be a major problem in almost all developing countries in the world today and India is no exception.

"...Buoyed by a property boom the amount of lending in India has grown by 30% in the past year. However there are concerns about the risk of such loans. If they are dependent on rising property prices it could be problematic. Furthermore if inflation increases further it may force the RBI to increase interest rates."
If interest rates rise substantially it will leave those indebted facing rising interest payments and potentially reducing consumer spending in the future

6. INEQUALITY HAS RISEN

Racism and inequality continue to destroy India just like in most other developing countries. The rich gets richer while the poor gets poorer in almost all poor countries and that is exactly what is going on right now in India. The few wealthy in the society control almost everything.

"...It is hoped that economic growth would help drag the Indian poor above the poverty line. However, so far economic growth has been highly uneven benefiting the skilled and wealthy disproportionately. Many of India’s rural poor are yet to receive any tangible benefit from the India’s economic growth. More than 78 million homes do not have electricity. At least 33% (268million) of the population live on less than $1 per day. Furthermore with the spread of television in Indian villages the poor are increasingly aware of the disparity between rich and poor."

7. LARGE BUDGET DEFICIT.

India has one of the largest budget deficits in the developing world. Excluding subsidies it amounts to nearly 8% of GDP. Although it has fallen a little in the past year. It still allows little scope for increasing investment in public services like health and education.

8. RIGID LABOR LAWS

Unnecessary rules and regulations is major problem in almost all developing countries. The few lobbyists in the society work very hard to make these unnecessary rules and regulations so they can benefit from people's hardwork. here is what I found online:
"...As an example, Firms employing more than 100 people cannot fire workers without government permission. The effect of this is to discourage firms from expanding to over 100 people. It also discourages foreign investment. Trades Unions have an important political power base and governments often shy away from tackling potentially politically sensitive labor laws."

These are just a few of the problems facing India today. Life in certain parts of India is nothing but absolute poverty with little hope for survival in the near future. Good education is the key to economic improvement yet India is lacking this essential key. Overpopulation destroys yet India's population continue exploding.

what do you think? what are some of the problems facing India today? How can India overcome some of these problems? Who is responsible?

sources: World bank, Indiatimes, NYtimes, CNN

I am an Indian and I lived in India all my life until I moved recently. Before I say anything, good job for putting everything together. These are almost all the problems facing India in a nutshell. Poverty, Hunger, diseases, poor education, etc. all of them can be linked to these problems listed here. From Delhi to Calcutta. From Calcutta to Chennai and from Chennai to Mumbai. There is poverty and hunger everywhere. Few People are very rich but the majority of the Indian population are very very poor. Poverty in the rural areas is worse but even in the cities you will find people sleeping beside the roads especially in Mumbai. I think the Indian government is trying but to me it is not enough as compared to the resources we have in India. There are bright students in India. Instead of the government creating jobs so these students can get jobs to do after school, the government of India is sponsoring these students to study abroad and after graduation these students never return home to help India. Instead they remain in America and in Europe working for better pay. Another problem I will like to point out is Corruption in the government. Indian officials are very corrupt and they do not even feel shy of what they do. All the politicians in India right now are corrupt people with no aim of helping the Indian economy to stand on its feet. It is very sad that after all these years of hard labor, India remains a poor third world country.

India does have problem like any developing country has but the way you are projecting is absolutely the way some of the western countries try to project India.

1. India has third largest active troops in the world after China and USA.

2. India is largest economy by GDP after US, Eurozone, China and Japan.

3. I read somewhere that India on number three on the number of doctors, scientists and engineers. But I do not remember the source.

4. India is 6th world nuclear power of the world, after signing the Nuclear deal last year.

5. When you have world class institutes like IIT, IIS, IIM, AIIMS, XIM, etc, I see India topping the list in all of these fields. And this not only my view but US president Obama's view, who has recently cautioned US citizens, to improve there education in order to compete with Indians.

I really failed to understand why did you pick up to project India as a poor country, and a failed Nation. India like any other developing country has its own problems and is fighting with those. It has overcome with some of those problems and will overcome with rest. Today, some of the world powers, find India and threat and caution there citizens to be careful with India's development. And I can name US president Obama. Do you think he references India for no reason? Trust me my friend, India is no less than any other Nation of the world today.

We are discussion the economic problems facing India today and you are here talking about troops and nuclear weapons. Can nuclear weapons put food on the table? Can nuclear weapons and the great standing army you talked of provide health care for the poor? Can the great standing army and the nuclear weapons provide Indians with good education? Look! India is popular today not because India is a second America or something. India is popular because of its second largest hungry population in the world. How strong is the army if the soldiers are hungry? There are smart people in India. There are rich people in India and there are highly respected people in India but considering the size of the Indian population and the number of rich people in the India today, there is no mistake in classifying India amongst the poorest of the poor.

I love India so much but honestly, India is very poor. Those who are saying that India is rich are those living in the big cities and towns but the majority of Indians live in villages and that is where the real poverty is. City life is somehow good but life in the village and across the countryside is really really bad.

I was in India a few days ago and yes India is very poor. You often see people lying by the streets and numerous street boys and girls roaming about doing nothing. India has more doctors and nurses but that is not enough as the user above me said compared to the size of the India's population in the world today. The second or maybe the largest population in the world today.

[AltMvz]

True true India is indeed poor. I myself have just returned from India and found truth in the statements above. And i wasn't in the rural regions but in Delhi! People forget the surrounding shanty towns in cities in India. I can see the glitz in the center but i can also see the poverty not seen by the many. In China work is spread, unemployment reducing, standard of living rising. why not in India? I know it's following China, but it doesn't seem to be working the same as in China. Still a few fat cats with millions of Dollars and millions with less than a dollar to there names.
Why isn't there guys out there building wells, roads, and houses for these people.Why isn't there people going out there to help the people farm, make clothes, and build tractors, eh?

My friend, thank you for the post but you forgot to include one important thing. "corruption in India". Indian officials are the worst in the world today. They are very very corrupt to the point where corruption becomes their nicknames. Corruption in India is not underground but rather naked corruption in broad day light.

[Kofi]

Originally Posted by Paktel

My friend, thank you for the post but you forgot to include one important thing. "corruption in India". Indian officials are the worst in the world today. They are very very corrupt to the point where corruption becomes their nicknames. Corruption in India is not underground but rather naked corruption in broad day light.

you are right. Corruption is a major problem in India but not just India. Corruption is a global problem and it is very serious especially in developing countries. corruption is very high in India and also in Africa. Go to Africa today and nobody will tell you why Africa remains poor. Corruption is what is killing Africa today and corruption is what is destroying India and keeping India away from ever developing and from ever feeding its increasing population. In my opinion, India will remain poor and Africa will remain poor as long as corruption continues to gain strength in these parts of the world.

I think that another problem facing India today is that Indians are loosing their culture especially those living abroad in places like the United States and Europe. As soon as Indians live their native land, they tend to forget about their culture. As soon as an Indian reaches the United States, they forget about their culture and start wearing ear rings and heavy chains and speaking street language instead of English. As soon as an Indian gets to the United Kingdom, they start smoking marijuana and cocaine and by the time they come to their senses, they are already good for nothing and hence cannot do anything to help their native country India.

[thegamevg]

Originally Posted by Indian

I think that another problem facing India today is that Indians are loosing their culture especially those living abroad in places like the United States and Europe. As soon as Indians live their native land, they tend to forget about their culture. As soon as an Indian reaches the United States, they forget about their culture and start wearing ear rings and heavy chains and speaking street language instead of English. As soon as an Indian gets to the United Kingdom, they start smoking marijuana and cocaine and by the time they come to their senses, they are already good for nothing and hence cannot do anything to help their native country India.

Being an Indian myself, I don't think this is THE big problem we are faced with..globalization is a natural phenomenon and there can't be the good without the bad..

For me, corruption is the biggest problem facing the country..everyone from politicians to the police to the municipal workers abuse their powers and don't work towards the welfare of the people. This is why growth is stagnant and the country is crippled..

corruption is the word of the day. Just recently in the news, several New Jersey politicians were arrested on corruption charges. corruption is a global problem

one thing I will like to add to my earlier post is Western domination. India is poor because western countries are benefiting from the Indian workforce while India remains poor. There are so many western businesses in India but the problem is that they do not pay according to the profit they make. They get very very cheap labor in India and that is why they keep on building businesses in India. At the end of the day, Indians have jobs in their own country but they work for nothing and remain poor.

[AltMvz]

I don't think blaming the western world for India being poor is going to do any good. China is still poor but in the process of changing all this. And i know that india is following behind, not as fast obviously. But western countries are sly and clever and will leach resources from poor countries for profit if let. You just have to play the game better, like China. Lets hope India does the same. Although corruption doesn't help. Or fatcats monopolising whole industries. This doesn't raise wealth. Western countries are wealthy because wealth is spread among everyone(well most) and this fuels their own domestic economy. Most American GDP comes from it's own domestic market not trade with other countries. It's a self sustained economy. And they work hard. Although maybe too hard compared to their european friends.
Their are no "Untouchables" in China. All are the same and all work for themselves and the mother country.
What's the point of having thousands of programmers in India when there's only a few hundred jobs. They leave and go elsewhere. Government should support all trades and careers. Builders, plummers, lawyers, bin men etc

Another problem facing India today is Brain-Drain. Almost all the educated people in India who are supposed to be helping the country develop want to travel outside the country in search for greener pastures. All the university graduates who are supposed to be using their knowledge to help build India are traveling outside the country in search for better jobs and better pay.

[sindhubd]

I have a point for all of us to think about. Swine flu. How fast it is spreading in I India itself is very clear about our hygienic conditions which are poor when compared to the other countries.

WOW!!! Very very interesting discussion. I know that every country around the world has it's problems (including mine OF COURSE) and I hope no one takes my post the wrong way. I'm a American (from Jersey lol) that currently lives in Bangalore (1yr) and this just hits right on the nail for me. I like to think of myself as an open-minded person but living here is something completely different than I could ever imagined. I honestly think a country like India could do SO MANY things...but I do not see any of that taking place no time soon. Yes, India is growing in ways, but it seems as if the more money it makes as a state, people are getting poorer.

I come from an urban area in America and to have seen things that I have in India is disheartening. What I don't understand is the way wealthy people here treat the less fortunate. I'm not saying all but whoa!! Its shocking to see that the wealthy think of the poor as people with no intelligence. Its funny because the wealthy seem to lack this so-called intelligence in away. They all seem to live in there little bubbles and really don't seem to care about anything else outside of it unless it can do potential harm to the bubble. Also, THIS IS INDIA!!!! That whole fair skin deal that is going on here is unbearable and sickening. There are beautiful and intelligent women here that should not be overlooked because they are considered dark...its India what do you honestly think brown looks like. I'm pretty sure that's not Indian Culture...

As a foreigner here I don't think I need to bring up corruption some of you might know how it might be for me here. What surprised me was the level of corruption in India. When I first arrived I was shocked to see that even lower level workers were corrupt, but can you blame anyone for trying to put food on the table. Most people here make nothing and I mean nothing...it sucks!

I honestly think that India needs to get its head from out the clouds...stop trying to follow behind well excuse me for using this phrase, but trying to keep up with the Jones's. Stop looking at what other countries are doing and try to make something work for your country and countrymen. Let India be India...not India after British rule or anything other. Now someone above mention Indian culture...and Indians abroad losing their culture?? You tell me do you know Indian culture, because I'm pretty sure you don't. Most of India's culture and language lies with the poor and people from lower a caste. Its funny because most Indians that I have came across (of course I should know I'm from Jersey and I lived in Sydney, Australia for 2 yrs) try hard to keep hard to keep their roots and tend to stick together with other Indians, so I don't think that really is an issue. India really needs to come together as one, help the things that actually can be helped. India unite yourself, if not for yourself...please people here really really need it.

I hate the fact that people always try to blame America. OK LETS GET IT OUT THERE...YES AMERICA IS ABOUT MAKING MONEY...YES!!! Come on we all know that so whats the problem, it takes 2 to tango. America has its own problems just like EVERY COUNTRY. They may be different issues but problems none the same and trust me, there are PROBLEMS even problems that the outside world has no clue about. What people should be concerned with are the deals and new projects that India agrees to that generates billions and why none of the money is actually being poured into India to help India. What America is doing now is nothing new people...all it is, is a different time different issues. I'm pretty sure if we lived in the era when Great Britain was ruling to space and beyond lol, the world probably felt the same way towards them. I just think that its our faults for letting history repeat itself. India is one of THE oldest countries in the world...India stick up for yourself.

poverty and hunger in India will be worse than the poverty and hunger in Africa in the next few decades if the population growth rate of India continues in this trend. India is the world's most populated country besides China but the greater part of India's population as compared to the Chinese population live below the poverty line which makes China far better than India. The fertility rate in India as compared to the fertility rate in Africa is far higher which implies that India's population growth rate will continue to increase while Africa's population growth rate might decrease in the next few decades and if this remains the trend then Africa will be far better of in the next few decades than India because of India's overpopulation issue and poverty level.

thanks very much for this post. I have been looking for statistics concerning poverty in India for a long time and this post is really helpful. I am doing a research and I will post the results here on this forum. keep up the good work.

[Ediba]

The last picture sums most of the points up. there is corruption everywhere but corruption in third world countries like India is worse and it will take sometime for this countries to develop. May be 100 more years to go.

Another problem facing India today is misinformation. Almost every youth in India right now wants to travel abroad because most of these people believe that you can't make in India because of the way things are going on right now. Even after graduation it is not easy to get a job so it is a dream of almost all the youths in India today to travel abroad. Most of them travel to places such as the United States and the United Kingdom and work for minimum wage but the truth is that if every youth should work the same way the work when they travel abroad, they can easily make it in India

there are so many foreign companies in India today which are doing more harm than good. You will think that these companies provide jobs for the Indian people but the truth is that these foreign companies in India use India's resources and exploit the labor force. They use India as a major source of cheap labor. they employ Indians to work for them but refuse to pay good and so even though a person may be working in India, he or she is no different than someone without a job in the United States.

This articles is great. It sums up almost everything i wanted to say. India must wake up. We must control our rapid population explosion else we will forever remain poor.

Until I visited India just recently I thought India was better than Africa in terms of economic standard and how people survive but I was wrong. India is just the same as Africa. In certain parts of India the situation is worse than Africa. In India the poor has no alternative and they die of poverty and hunger. In Africa there is availability of Land and most poor people grow crops and rear animals to feed themselves and their families. The poverty in Africa gets worse when crops fail especially in the dry season. The situation in India is quite different. There is no land available for the poor to farm on and the poor continues to live in poverty and hunger throughout the year

India is suffering from the same problems that Africa is suffering from, because both India and Africa are strong in Idol worship and Jehovah God is very Jealous (Exodus 20:4) and (Deuteronomy 28:15...).

This means that there is one thing that God cannot do, He can not Joke, we need to take His Word seriously.

[Tamara]

I am not an Indian but I think like all other third world countries, the problems are very similar. India is full of IT(information technology) companies whose main aim isn't to help Indians get out of poverty but to use Indians to expand their companies. They use Indians to do much more work than an average worker in the United States would do yet the pay Indians less than 1% of what an average worker in the United States gets.

[Sullivan]

Western countries should stop outsourcing poor countries. western countries pretend to help these poor countries but they actually outsource them to benefit themselves. Outsourcing in India and Africa must stop and must stop now.

[Erhman]

India needs new population control laws. If the current population growth of India continues like this for the next two decades, life in India will be "hell in a cell".

Originally Posted by Erhman

India needs new population control laws. If the current population growth of India continues like this for the next two decades, life in India will be "hell in a cell".

I agree with you. Also India needs to change the old and un-benefiting traditions such as the caste system which doesn't make sense at all. Also uncivilized traditions like child marriages should be abolished in India

I like this forum on Africaw.

India has many problems:
1) Population - possibly the most important problem.
2) Poverty
3) Corruption
4) Women's empowerment, education

I myself am part of the brain drain from India. I was born in India and live in the US. I am looking to contribute more towards issues in India and the 3rd world countries.

fyi - I also have a small facebook group to discuss Indian Population Problem/Solution.
facebook.
com/#!/group.php?gid=107616249277936&ref=ts