India in a sweet spot as rift between West, China grows: Economist

India is in a sweet spot globally given the growing rift between Western nations and China, eminent economist Kaushik Basu has said and expressed hope that the country will hold out on three pillars -- democracy, free media and secularism -- which made India special.

Basu, currently a professor of economics at Cornell University, said that these three pillars are particularly needed now with all the post-Covid economic and social uncertainties that the world is going through.

"Given the growing rift between Western nations and China, India is in a sweet spot, globally," Cornell University said in a statement quoting Basu.

According to Basu, among the many nations that became independent in the last century, India stood out for its democracy, free media and secularism.

"They provide foundations for economic growth. One hopes that the nation will have the wisdom to hold on to these political pillars which made India special," he said.

A major conference on the Indian economy will be organised at Cornell University on October 13-14.

Apart from the regular academic talks, there will be public lectures by founder of Infosys Limited Narayana Murthy and former CII President Naushad Forbes.