Reimagining India: Unlocking the Potential of Asia’s Next Superpower (53 page)
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Authors: McKinsey,Company Inc.
Sources: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs/Population Division, Indian and other national censuses
MOVE TO THE CITY
Besides being crowded, India’s cities also lack adequate services, housing, and amenities. Here’s how far Indian cities fall short of the levels of services that they need to provide.
City residents’ representation in parliament has been rising steadily, offering hope for the future.
| Share of population living in cities |
| Total number of seats in the lower house of parliament |
| Number of urban seats |
Source: McKinsey Global Institute
INDIA EMERGES
India has been home to a thriving civilization since the Bronze Age. From 1000 BC to 1800 AD, India accounted for roughly 25% of the world’s GDP. But the present-day nation is a creation of the 20th century and is becoming a power in the 21st.
| Political transitions |
| Conflicts and challenges |
| Milestones |
1947 | August 15: The former British colony is split into two independent countries, India and Pakistan. Hundreds of thousands later die in violence related to the partition. |
1948 | Political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi is assassinated by Hindu extremists. War breaks out with Pakistan over Kashmir territory. |
©Mansell/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images | |
1951−52 | The Congress party led by Jawaharlal Nehru wins the first general elections. |
©Larry Burrows/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images | |
1962 | India fights a border war with China. |
1965 | India fights a second war with Pakistan over Kashmir. |
1966 | Nehru’s daughter Indira Gandhi becomes prime minister. |
1971 | India supports the breakaway region of East Pakistan in a war that creates the independent nation of Bangladesh. |
1974 | India successfully tests a nuclear weapon. |
1975 | Indira Gandhi declares a state of emergency, restricts civil liberties, and jails political opponents. |
©Tim Graham/Getty Images | |
1977 | Indira Gandhi’s Congress party loses the election. She returns to power in 1980. |
1984 | Indira Gandhi is assassinated. Riots following her death kill 3,000 people. Her son Rajiv becomes prime minister. |
1991 | P.V. Narasimha Rao becomes prime minister in a coalition government. Finance Minister Manmohan Singh ( |
©Prashant Panjiar/The India Today Group/Getty Images | |
1992 | Riots erupt after Hindu fundamentalists demolish a mosque in Ayodhya. Retaliatory bombings kill more than 250 in Mumbai several months later. |
1998 | A coalition led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party takes power. |
1999 | India and Pakistan fight over the Kargil region of Kashmir. |
©Vijay Gupta/Getty Images | |
2000 | The one billionth Indian citizen is born. |
2002 | India tests its first nuclear-capable ballistic missile. Pakistan does likewise. Hindu-Muslim riots in Gujarat kill more than 1,000 people. |
2004 | The Congress party returns to power and India applies for permanent membership on the United Nations Security Council. |
2006 | India signs a nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States. |
2007 | India’s first commercial space rocket enters service. A year later, India sends a probe to the moon. |
©STR/AFP/Getty Images | |
2008 | Terrorist attacks kill 166 people in southern Mumbai. |
2009 | Prime minister Manmohan Singh’s Congress-led alliance wins a landslide victory in elections. |
2012 | The worst power failure in history affects 670 million people across India. |
2013 | GDP growth slumps below 5%. The prospect of higher United States interest rates triggers a sharp sell-off in the rupee. |
