Living Crazy

The level of confidence is extraordinary. The same phrases are repeated over and over: "It is time for the Indian to find his place in the sun.""We are on the cusp of major change.""We can compete!" Of course, some ask if this is more of the irrational exuberance that the country has seen before. No one disputes that India had a fantastic year, sparked by an excellent monsoon that set off a cycle of rising demand and consumption in India's largely agricultural economy. Foreign-exchange reserves have passed the $100 billion mark, last month India reported 8.4% GDP growth rate for the July-through- September quarter, and the stock market recently hit a record high. In the past few weeks, even relations with Pakistan have been looking better. The answer is simple. The mood is not optimism -- it is confidence. Many Indian businesses are no longer afraid to take risks and compete on a global scale. This is a major departure from the past. From Independence in 1947 to the early '90s, the self-acclaimed "self- sufficient" nation was largely closed off to the world. Protection by the government meant less competition and safer profits, so many businessmen feared reforms that would alter the status quo. Such fears partly reflected a lack of confidence that India would be able to compete in the global economy. Even after India opened its doors in the early '90s, many were anxious that Indian industry would be demolished by foreign competition. In many ways, India is being woven into a global network. Outsourcing has made India a viable part of multinational production chains. Many Indians take pride in the fact that outsourcing is no longer only for low-end labor, but also for "low-cost brainware" such as research and development. And India no longer feels as threatened by "brain drain." For many years, India's top talents graduated from university and went abroad. Now, many are coming back, lured by the opportunities of a rapidly developing economy. Ajay Shah, a consultant at the Ministry of Finance, explains: "I still have more friends in San Francisco than I do in Bombay or Delhi. But there's nothing left to do in the U.S. . . . This is the Wild West and I'm having a ball."