This refers to Kanika Datta's column "Hares and tortoises" (Swot, December 4). It is a revelation for us. We get to know from various reports that China is now poised with the insurmountable problem of an ageing population, thanks to its severe compulsive control on birth rate initiated by the Chinese government some 30 years ago. Fortunately, India can boast of not making the population reduction drive a severe one. But we must remember that in the old-school story of the hare and tortoise, the latter won because the former slept. Nowadays, no hare would do that. The most that could happen is that the hare may become prone to ailments and would be unable to compete for a while. This is the case with China now.
The tortoise has to remain strong to overcome China in terms of gross domestic product growth in 2016. But we must admit that China has been able to build massive infrastructure over the years, which is conducive to doing business. We are far away from that. Only time will tell if India's younger workforce can overtake China's.
Ashok Chakrabarty Kolkata
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