Chandigarh April 18, 2023
Panjab University’s prestigious Colloquium lecture was delivered by Professor Lakwinder Singh, Visiting Professor of Economics, Institute of Human Development, New Delhi. He is also a long-term editor of Millennial Asia: An International Journal of Asian Studies (SAGE Publisher). Professor Singh delivered an insightful talk on “Indian Economic Development: Retrospect and Prospect”. He began by pointing out that Indian developing as a world power is more of a hype with ground reality far from it. As compared to some other East Asian economic experiences like Vietnam, Korea, China and Taiwan, India still has lot of ground to cover. He quoted economist Keun Lee (2017) that a transition from being a late comer to a rich economy remains possible if economy takes detours, flies on a ballon and leap frogs into new technologies. The state needs to cross formal as well as informed sectoral barriers for economic transformation. Professor Lakhwinder stressed on Aditi Gandhi’s and Michael Watson’s 2022 study on Indian’s Super rich 46 billionaires whose primary source of wealth was wealth rent thick sectors, which was not contributing to India’s economic growth but instead was resulting in deep fractured inequalities. The other discontents of Indian economic transformation included rural distress, high degree of indebtedness and suicides in countryside. The future path, Dr. Singh pointed out should include lessons from East Asian Industrialization, leapfrogging and economic catch up, evolution of social capability building, state led industrial development but Professor Lakhwinder cautioned that today’s industrialization cannot be a classic industrialization but instead needed to be a process in consonance with environment and nature.
The Dean of University Instructions, Panjab University, Professor Rumina Sethi gave the concluding remarks and congratulated the speaker on his apt title of the lecture. Professor Monica Singh, Colloquium Co-ordinator proposed the formal vote of thanks.
