Letters: Still strong

In his column “Still southward bound” (Front Running, August 13), Devangshu Datta highlights the interesting fact that over the past 12 months, foreign institutional investors have invested Rs 55,000 crore in Indian equities whereas domestic institutions have withdrawn Rs 8,000 crore from equities and invested Rs 3.8 lakh crore in debt — in the hope of making windfall gains if the Reserve Bank of India reduces interest rates. He also mentions that India is likely to remain among the three fastest-growing economies. Should these facts not be taken as a strong endorsement of the India growth story?

In the aftermath of nearly 30 years of increasingly “steroid-driven” growth in developed countries, some de-leveraging is unavoidable and this may continue for five, 10 or 15 years. But given the luxurious (and even wasteful) lifestyle in these countries, near-zero growth should perhaps be welcomed, especially for environmental considerations. Why does the writer find this frightening?

Alok Sarkar Kolkata

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