CHENNAI: “Every nation should find its own development model,” said S Gurumurthy, a well-known commentator on economic and political affairs, while addressing a national conclave of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry here on Wednesday.
Gurumurthy traced the ‘one-size-fits-all’ mentality back to the end of the World War-II when the US took charge as the leader of the Free World. He alleged that the UN policy towards the development of underdeveloped countries in 1951 was based on the Truman doctrine, which called for a universal order of life sans ancient philosophy.
Claiming that the G20 summit in 2005 agreed that each nation has to look for its own sustainable development method, he said that however, attempts to transplant development models from the West were being made.
Alleging that economic policies are drawn up keeping cities such as Bengaluru and New Delhi in mind, he said inclusive growth has not been possible.
Gurumurthy even cited the currency stabilisation programme adopted by Yugoslavia in 1994 as an example of a country-specific approach towards handling an economic crisis. “They adopted principles of communist Russia to combat their problem,” he said.
Kamal Haasan, who also addressed the delegates, was in agreement with Gurumurthy that strengthening small industries was the key to ensuring inclusive growth in the country. While the actor-turned-politician called for a balance between big industries and small indigenous industries, Gurumurthy emphasised the importance of small industries and development, which is not based on proficiency in English.
“Morbi district in Gujarat has the highest per capita in the country, not the big cities,” Gurumurthy said, also pointing to the magnitude of the fabric industry in Tirupur, where less than 9 per cent are graduates.
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry president Rakesh Shah also extended his support to smaller industries and claimed that the FICCI was promoting start-ups and micro, small & medium enterprises in a big way.
“India is changing rapidly and the role of chambers is also changing from just being an advocacy group for the industry. We also have to now translate the needs of the government, the needs of the country, to the industry,” he said.