A long way to go

This refers to the letter ‘Better times’ (Jan 19) by Hafsa Khaled. The writer is happy about the fact that a report in the World Economic Forum has purposed to place Pakistan’s economy ahead of India’s in certain respect. However, the said report does not cover the entire spectrum of the economy of the two countries and focuses on a miniscule segment without analysing the underlying facts. India’s GDP is ten times of Pakistan’s while its population is six times. It has huge forex reserves of $350 plus billion out of export earnings while Pakistan possesses mere $23 billion, built up through borrowings. Pakistan economy survives on debts from the IMF and its debt to GDP ratio is 65 percent. India’s economy stands on its own feet while it has achieved self reliance in most of the fields. India is technologically much advanced with a huge reservoir of skilled population specially engineers, scientists, IT specialists and other highly qualified persons. It has some of the best academic institutions in Asia. It has a strong manufacturing base, churning out highly sophisticated goods. Its economy is booming with a growth of 7.5 percent, a lucrative export sector with per capita exports three times that of Pakistan.

India’s economy has transformed to become the fifth largest in the world and in a decade is forecasted to occupy the third position. Pakistan has been left behind even by Bangladesh whose economy is performing well and its exports and reserves are much higher than Pakistan’s. The writer should not get impressed by the import of brand new cars into the country or foreign goods occupying the big stores in the major cities. The imbalance between imports and exports is not a good sign for the economy. An economic growth should benefit all classes of the country.

Majeed

Karachi