A ROARING DECADE FOR INDIA

The Indian mood was glum in the early years of the first decade of the new century. Economic growth was sluggish, the stock market was still reeling from the after-effects of a burst technology bubble and there was policy paralysis. It promised to be a decade of fatigue and lethargy. But what followed was almost unbelievable. Economic growth accelerated on the back on a huge increase in investments and equity values soared. Incomes went up in tandem, as is evident from the sales of automobiles and mobile phones. The government also increased spending on education and health to help those millions who were left behind in the race to prosperity. There were the inevitable problems but this was a decade of roaring successes.