Op/Ed Commentary: Chris Devonshire-Ellis

Dec. 31 – As we look back on 2009, the year in India ends with on an upbeat note. That is some relief after the tragedy of the Mumbai terror attacks at the end of last year, and a strong signal of the resilience of both the nation and its people. However, warnings over unresolved and long standing political issues remain.

India’s 2009 began with uncertainty, not just due to the global financial crisis, but also tensions over the nation’s national security in the wake of the apparent ease in which terrorists were able to penetrate many of Mumbai’s main focal points with nonchalance, arriving by sea near the Gateway to India, a central point in the city. India remained stoic in the face of such events just as the Indian economy remained relatively untouched by the events unfolding globally. Unlike China, with an exposure of about 40 percent of its total economy in providing global exports, India was less affected. Its domestic consumption ratio is more balanced, and a wealthy middle class – interestingly of about the same size of China’s at around 300 million people – continued to spend the country out of real danger. Continue reading →