2017::1992
- Arvind Nandan
- Nov 19, 2017
- 2 min read
If you were 20 years of age or older 25 years ago, chances are you had experienced liberalization of Indian economy.
I said experienced, not remembered, because having experienced it is the key if you wish to relate to 2017. Why?
As a fresh graduate around that time, who entered the market, I had witnessed a surreptitious change in the marketplace. A hitherto unknown scent of globalisation hung heavily in the air at that time. Words and acronyms like GATT and WTO were splashed all over the newspapers in the following years. A mysterious, if suspicious, anticipation of open market economy was causing butterflies to float in the belly. A man armed with a fresh college degree, trained to deal (through existing/conventional means) with his next four decades of work-life, suddenly and unknowingly, was required to handle things in markedly different ways. The changes were fundamental and structural.
Back To 2017.
After nearly a quarter of a century, we are witnessing another round of structural changes. Different from changes of incremental nature or of cosmetic type. A change of this type causes significant impact. Business as usual takes a bit of hit. Revenues and volumes suddenly go into shock. Reorientation in ways of thinking & conducting business and life in general becomes imminent. Much of it causes despair and resistance on part of everyone. But the key is in being able to quickly grasp the reality.
The most gruesome reality of any change is its tendency to hide it's face.
Back in 1992, almost no one read its far reaching impact. Protectionist reflexes led to massive resistance - the future was seen as bleak by many, if not all.
In 2017, many 25 year olds of 1992 who are 50 year olds of today, still want to be guided by the same reflexes. They didn't figure the enormity of 1992 then, and cannot fathom the colossality of now. It is not easy... And definitely, extremely difficult for the 25 year olds of 2017.
What happened in 1992 bore fruit only in the next 4-5 years. Whether everyone agreed to the WTO or not, the markets changed forever. Insurance sector JVs came shortly, many global companies and services made their marks, and so on.
The results of the events of 2017 will appear much faster though. Not because of or despite any political reasons, but because the world is a far more enabled place today. For instance, 25 years ago, we still lived in a pre-email world, forget the far bigger advancements of twenty-first century. Email or internet are not even reckoned as technological eye-poppers anymore.
The basic things to do at such times are only two:
To keep intact the ability and insight to read the situation, and
To act without panic or haste.
How many, however, are able to do this?
We are in an intriguing and super-charged tunnel of time. One day, the time will tell the story much better than any of us.
Good luck to us all!
Comments