Development of Asia - pacific economics and India's role in it

We are all fond of saying that India is different. The statement is valid to the extent that we should not blindly copy others and have to find our own solutions. But it does not mean that others' experience has no lessons for us or that we have nothing to learn from them. On the contrary, in an increasingly interdependent world, countries have to constantly learn from each other's experience. As an aid to that process, RGICS arranges lectures and discussion meetings by eminent persons with international experience in different fields. These are published as Papers and Proceedings of discussions for wider dissemination to stimulate debate and interaction on contemporary issues.

In pursuance of this approach, we invited Mr. Toyoo Gyohten to speak to a select audience of economists, political leaders, policy advisers, industrialists, businessmen, bankers and others on the subject of economic development of Asia-Pacific countries and on what India could do. The lecture-cum-discussion was held on February 3, 1994. We are happy to present the text of Mr. Gyohten's address as our RGICS Paper No. 9. It is an apt reflection on the current fortunes of our nation set on a historical and analytical perspective and speculates on what the future holds.