Distinction between Growth and Development.

Not long ago growth and development were thought to be synonyms. The difference between the two began to be more discerning with each passing decade.

It all happened with the blurring distinction between First World, Second World and Third world. With the fall of the Eastern European Bloc referred to as the "Second World" the nomenclature like the First World and the Third World gradually lost their significance in the sense that we now hear no more of these terms in matters of international diplomatic discourse. The distinction between these so called three categories of worlds further disintegrated when grouping of nations mostly from the Third World under the Non Alignment Movement(NAM) gradually lost its raison d'etre. It's because the very formation of NAM was aimed at remaining non aligned with either of the first two categories worlds. The journey seems to have traversed the path that is from bipolar world to unipolar and from unipolar to now multipolar world. Our country Bharat is certainly a strong Pole in this multipolar “New Politiconomic Order”.

This “Bhartiya Pole” is more like a Lamp Post towards which many countries including the powerful ones see with hope during distress and difficulty. 

Instances in the recent past when India emerged as a savior during crises of Covid inter alia will be suffice it to prove. 

Besides,the rest of the world keeps waiting to watch India’s stand on matters of geo political importance.

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Back to the discussion regarding distinction between growth and development it would be relevant to observe that there can be growth without development but the reverse of it is an impossibility.

In this context examples of Scandinavian countries are worth citing. They are low on growth rate but high on happiness index.

We can visualize growth-development distinction by giving an example of a mal-nutrited child growing with a lot of complications. Or a mentally retarded child albeit with a robust body.

 Needless to say that his growth was obvious but his development remained a source of concern.    

                      Similarly in the distant past decades many countries including ours also disproportionately focused on only the rate of growth that our GDP should achieve. Focusing more on growth rate of GDP than on all aspects of socio-economic development is tantamount to being concerned more with econometrics than economics. 

Any growth in output worth being called development must provide room for development in terms of growing capacity of the poor, youth, women and farmers to exercise choices of their likings.

If the growth in the output provides room for development in terms of growing capacity of the poor,youth, women and farmers to exercise choices of their likings; it's development.

If the growth takes place with growing attenuation in discrimination merely on the basis of caste and sex; it's development.

If this growth is treated for sectoral or regional imbalances with positive intervention; it's development.

If this growth is taking place plugging leakage in the system through IT enabled intervention;it's development.

With growing use of JAM(Jan dhan-Aadhar-Mobile) trio erstwhile leakage to the extent of 40 percent in the distribution system is now a thing of the past. 

The focus is more on governance than the government.

If this growth is taking place with the proceeds of the taxes being used more on the capital expenditures & Infrastructure building than on unproductive subsidy & revenue expenditure; it's development. 

It's not that subsidy ipso facto is to be shunned altogether. It needs to be optimised in view of the necessity of fulfillment of social obligations. 

 For that matter the policy making deliberations & exercises need to give weightage to development economics and welfare economics in the ratio of 70:30.

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Last but not the least; the growth that took place in the distant past gradually led us towards forgetting to take pride in our ancient wonder that was India. Rather to a great extent it discounted or demeaned our glorious past in a subtly veiled way through the dominating regime of left leaning history writings. The effect is that even the scholars of history don't know much about the history of South India or the history of the North East.

 The Indian belief system was scoffed at under the garb of development of scientific temper and spirit of enquiry.

True picture of the glorious past was not allowed to emerge in full.

           R.R.Prabhakar.

            11.02.2024.