The bottomline is growth

Finance Minister P Chidambaram said Indian economy had hit an “anchor” growth rate of 8.5 per cent and is more likely looking at 9 per cent.

But he underlined the need to drive growth deeper and wider as he defended the need for rural employment guarantees, writes Narayanan Madhavan.

I dream of a discrimination-free India...

Poverty is perhaps the most gigantic of hurdles that our nation has to overcome. This is due of lack of job opportunities. The poorest as well as the illiterate people in the remotest areas must have access to high quality education, says Richa Sharma from Lotus Valley Int'l, Noida.

Technology can transform our country

India, a nation of a billion people, is well on the way to becoming one of the three largest economies of the world. But there is another reality. There is, therefore an urgent need to bridge the chasm between India’s potential and its realisation, writes Mukesh Ambani.

Imagine a ‘reverse brain drain’ from the US

Our country will become a power to reckon with in the arena sports by winning the world titles in football and hockey, as well as in Formula One Racing. India would send many a Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams into space, advances in Science such as Stem cell therapy would help even the poorest of citizens, says Vidhi Sachdeva from St Thomas School.

...A lean, mean military power of the future

The armed forces have held a pivotal position amongst the various instruments available to the country, in addressing all facets which impact on the security of the nation.

Undoubtedly, this responsibility and role will continue to be assigned to them in the coming years and decades, writes Gen JJ Singh.



Not a single child shall have to work...

Our technologically-advanced society will strike the right balance between work and pleasure. Families would have time to enjoy the simple joys of life, factories would hum with the sound of prosperity, says Aastha Sawhney from XII-C, Silver Line School, Ghaziabad.



...Rarely do we think of the remaining 5 billion living on Earth

All the time we Indians keep thinking and believing that our responsibility is for the 1.1 billion people that live in India. Hence our focus and endeavors as individuals, as groups and as a nation are confined to the motherland, writes Sanjay Gupta.


...World’s biggest mass healthcare provider by 2010

India is a unique country, no doubt. It produces the largest number of doctors in the world (30,000 medical seats), as well as the largest number of nurses (Bangalore alone has over 900 nursing schools and colleges) and medical technicians, writes Dr Devi Shetty.


Just wonder…

India is like a snake whose head is in the 21st century and whose tail is in the 17th century. It is the dream of every citizen of an economically backward and poor country, to see that his country develops with no negative systems, ideas or beliefs... New Delhi's school children imagine the India that can be.

From a distance

Imagine an India that produces leaders who understand the complicated and multifaceted dynamics of international affairs—who understand international politics, conflict, and negotiation; international economics, trade, and finance, writes Deborah Winslow Nutter.

... A spiritual superpower

After 60 years of independence, India presents the spectacle of a country in which extreme affluence and poverty exist cheek by jowl. In this ancient land, the rich are richer than the people of the US or UK, and its citizens imbued with a sense of patriotism and technical knowledge which exceeds that of the Japanese, writes Swami Ramdev.

...World’s best system of public transport

We are on the threshold of vast changes and developments in India. It is a period of optimism for most Indians, a period when they can legitimately dream of a better life, a better country. The time is, therefore, ripe to imagine the India of the future. However, when we contemplate what the country can become, we should not lose sight of the fact that India had a glorious past, not only in terms of economic prosperity but also on moral values.

...In my 75 years, I have witnessed great changes in India. Some of the changes have been for the better and some for the worse. The India of the future, I firmly believe, will take its place in the comity of developed nations and I sincerely hope that the moral heritage of my country remains in place. After all, there is no point in prosperity at the cost of ethics, writes Dr Elattuvalapil Sreedharan.

...building on 5-star dreams

I think most of us have this vision of the India we would like to see, the India that can be. The problem is that we are almost afraid to visualise it because it seems too Utopian, the impossible dream. As a hotelier, I had a dream. To build hotels and resorts that could be ranked among the best in the world. It took a team effort with others who shared that dream to achieve what was once considered impossible, writes PRS Oberoi.

Spiritual power must guide us on path of growth

India is finally on the trajectory towards claiming its rightful place in the comity of nations. But the India that is emerging today is an India with a difference. We Indians have always believed that economic growth and material progress is important, but along with growth, we must also preserve, proliferate, treasure and nurture our spiritual power - our adhyatmik shakti, writes Jyotiraditya M Scindia.

Global respect spurs confidence, fuels success

Today, the nation once written-off by the world for its Hindu rate of growth, is a services superpower-in-the-making. Today, Indians the world-over are respected for their work and expertise across professions like finance, technology, medicine and knowledge. Today, Indians are dumping lucrative international assignments and returning home, writes Uday Kotak.

Where dreams of entrepreneurs are encouraged...

I imagine an environment, first and foremost, in which entrepreneurs dare to dream because they are encouraged to do so. Because the financial eco-system provides them the resources to invest in cutting-edge ideas; because consumers reward novel ideas and services; because intellectual property rights are fiercely defended, writes Anand Mahindra.


I dream of an India that is more than hope

My dream started young. But I always planned on things one step at a time. I think, later, that made all the difference, between just imagining and realising that that imagination needed a focus, writes Sachin Tendulkar.




'The little steps matter'
This is an inspirational story by Sachin Tendulkar. The batting genius writes exclusively on cricket, faith and life.




Leadership means believing in your team
Sachin Tendulkar talks about what leadership means to him and what it takes to be an inspirational leader.