India And The Knowledge Economy

"In the global knowledge economy of the twenty-first century, India's development policy challenges will require it to use knowledge more effectively to raise the productivity of agriculture, industry, and services and reduce poverty. India has made tremendous strides in its economic and social development in the past two decades. Its impressive growth in recent years-8.2 percent in 2003-can be attributed to the far-reaching reforms embarked on in 1991 and to opening the economy to global competition. In addition, India can count on a number of strengths as it strives to transform itself into a knowledge-based economy-availability of skilled human capital, a democratic system, widespread use of English, macroeconomic stability, a dynamic private sector, institutions of a free market economy; a local market that is one of the largest in the world; a well-developed financial sector; and a broad and diversified science and technology infrastructure, and global niches in IT. But India can do more-much more-to leverage its strengths and grasp today's opportunities. India and the Knowledge Economy assesses India's progress in becoming a knowledge economy and suggests actions to strengthen the economic and institutional regime, develop educated and skilled workers, create an efficient innovation system, and build a dynamic information infrastructure. It highlights that to get the greatest benefits from the knowledge revolution, India will need to press on with the economic reform agenda that it put into motion a decade ago and continue to implement the various policy and institutional changes needed to accelerate growth. In so doing, it will be able to improve its international competitivenessand join the ranks of countries that are making a successful transition to the knowledge economy."

This book asks fundamental questions about the extent to which India is participating in the global shift towards knowledge-based forms of competitiveness. It charts Indian performance and progress using a unique framework benchmarked against fourteen other countries. In the course of the analysis, critical areas for improvement are identified, and the book provides detailed and objective insights for policy-makers and researchers to facilitate change and institutional reform in India. Readers will derive a comprehensive understanding of India’s performance and prospects as it emerges as a serious global economic player. A particular feature of the work is the development of an original knowledge footprint concept that measures the extent and impact of knowledge development and diffusion domestic and internationally.The views expressed in this book are the author’s.

India has realised, later than many other nations, that in order to prosper in the new world economy it will need to successfully manage its knowledge assets. This book investigates the rise of entrepreneurship and knowledge management. It looks at the high tech sector, how it is at present and it's prospects for growth. It then goes onto analyse the effect that the knowledge economy will have on labour, business strategy and corporate restructuring and highlights the challenges that India will face, not least whether it can offer enough employment potential for 1 billion people.

Knowledge Economy: The Indian Challenge engages with the challenge of transforming the Indian economy to a knowledge economy. Thus, it looks at change management of the economy with a focus on: - Economic trends and critical activities contributing to the desired change - Educational issues for preparing the human resources - Structural issues for developing institutional frameworks - Societal issues for ultimately benefiting stakeholders

One of the world's largest economies, India has made tremendous strides in its economic and social development in the past two decades, and is poised to realize even faster growth in the years to come. After growing at about 3.5 percent from the 1950s to the 1970s, India's economy expanded during the 1980s to reach an annual growth rate of about 5.5 percent at the end of the period. It increased its rate of growth to 6.7 percent between 1992-93 and 1996-97, as a result of the far-reaching reforms embarked on in 1991 and opening up of the economy to more global competition. Its growth however, dropped to 5.5 percent from 1997-98 to 2001-02, and to 4.4 percent in 2002-03, due to the impact of poor rains on agricultural output. But India's economy surged ahead to reach a growth rate of 8.2 percent in 2003-04, in line with growth projections cited in its Tenth Five-Year Plan, which calls for increasing growth, to an average of 8 percent between 2002-03 and 2006-07 (India, Planning Commission, 2002e). Such sustained acceleration is needed to provide opportunities for India's growing population, and its even faster-growing workforce. The time is opportune for India to make its transition to the knowledge economy-an economy that creates, disseminates, and uses knowledge to enhance its growth and development. This report provides a "big picture" assessment of India's readiness to embrace the knowledge economy, and highlights some of the key constraints, and emerging possibilities confronting India on four critical pillars of the knowledge economy: 1) strengthening the economic and institutional regime; 2) developing educated and skilled workers; 3) creating an efficient innovation system; and, 4) building a dynamic information infrastructure. The report highlights that to be competitive in the global knowledge economy of the twenty-first century, India should continue to focus its efforts on further reforming its overall economic and institutional environment, and improve its overall trade and investment climate. Addressing issues in this domain will be key because it sets the overall incentive framework needed to improve performance across the economy. The report further underlines that for India to leverage its strengths, and opportunities on a global scale, it needs to undertake significant reforms and investments in building education and skills, strengthening its innovation system, and further bolstering its information infrastructure. To create and sustain a...

How should we understand the many reports that poverty is the mother of innovation in India? What has the role of austerity been in the development of India's knowledge economy? In this critical study of Indian innovation, or 'Indovation', Thomas Birtchnell explores how the complex mobilities of 'globals' with stakes in India have transformed discourses and imaginaries about innovation in the region. He adopts a critical eye to the notion of Indovation by focusing on the various circuits of globals where India's knowledge economy is concentrated: expertise, entrepreneurship and community. Birtchnell traces the various discourses and counter-discourses around an Indian way of working and illustrates how differences in the international dimensions of austerity allow India's knowledge economy to prosper.

As part of its review of Comparative National Innovation Policies: Best Practice for the 21st Century, the Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy convened a major symposium in Washington to examine the policy changes that have contributed to India's enhanced innovative capacity. This major event, organized in cooperation with the Confederation of Indian Industry, was particularly timely given President Bush's March 2006 visit to India and the Joint Statement issued with the Indian government calling for strategic cooperation in innovation and the development of advanced technologies. The conference, which brought together leading figures from the public and private sectors from both India and the United States, identified accomplishments and existing challenges in the Indian innovation system and reviewed synergies and opportunities for enhanced cooperation between the Indian and U.S. innovation systems. This report on the conference contains three elements: a summary of the key symposium presentations, an introductory chapter analyzing the policy issues raised at the symposium, and a research paper providing a detailed examination of India's knowledge economy, placing it in terms of overall global trends and analyzing its challenges and opportunities.