553 m metric tonne of oil equivalent was India’s energy consumption in 2003(1,410 m metric tonne for China).

100 m mobile phone users in India in 2006 (194.5 m in the US in 2005)

Rs 1,81,000 cr is what India attracted in FDI till 2004 (China received Rs 11,39,000 cr)

71 days and 11 procedures are required to start a business in India (just 5 days and 5 procedures in the US)

Rs 14,862,000 cr was the total purchasing power of Indian households in 583 districts and 100 urban centres in 2003, almost twice the 1999 figure of Rs 7,634,000 cr

576 bn passenger km were covered by the Indian Railways in 2004-5 (571 bn by the Chinese railways)

264 hours taken to prepare and pay taxes by an Indian enterprise (325 in the US)

33 is India’s Gini Index, a measure of income inequality on a scale of zero (perfect equality) to 100 (perfect inequality). At 41,45 and 59, it is higher for the US, China and Brazil, respectively

Rs 1.5 lakh is today the per capita income in India (Rs 19.4 lakh in the US). Thus an average family of four in India brings home Rs 6.1 lakh annually.

670 m share transactions are held every day on BSE and NSE, compared to 3,450 m in the US on Nasdaq and NYSE

Rs 7,85,000 cr the value of India’s forex and gold reserves (Rs 43,00,000 cr for China)

2% loans written off in India, compared to 20% in China

Rs 25,60,000 cr market capitalisation of stock exchanges in India in 2005 (Rs 36,30,000 cr in China)

Rs 1,86,000 cr worth of India’s service exports in 2004, up from Rs 21,400 cr in 1990, an 870 per cent rise. For China, it was Rs 2,90,000 cr in 2004, up from Rs 26,700 cr in 1990, a 1,080 per cent rise.

65.8% of GDP was India’s total debt in 2004 (38.1% for the US and 70.7% of GDP for France)

3 motor vehicles per km of road in India (36 in the US and 48 in Russia)

334 number of airports in India (14,883 in the US) AAI handles 59 m passengers annually, Atlanta airport alone serves 80 m

5,58,000 sq km was the total land under irrigation in India in 2003 ( 5,45,960 sq km in China)

From ‘India Today’

We keep on comparing India’s performance and attainment with China. Perhaps in present context, India can’t do what China has done and achieved. But for us, it is prudent that we keep on reminding our politicians and bureaucrats the gap between China and India. May be one day they realize to work in more coherent manner. Many and me too believe that it is possible to attain the growth rate quite comparable to China if our mindsets are tuned for attaining that.

One thing but sure if we can prosper that too fast those at the bottom most of the ladder of the society will not allow us to live peacefully for very long.