Mumbai : Unlike the United States, majority of Indians are self-employed and this is not a hidden fact. This large share of self-employed population, have benefitted the Indian economy in many ways in this global economic crisis, stated R Vaidyanathan, professor of finance at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.
He went on to state that the Indian tradition where women like saving in form of gold and bank deposits, have kept the Indian economy afloat. “Self employment is high which is why savings are high in the country,” Vaidyanathan said.
Commenting more on saving while delivering a lecture on ‘global economic crisis’, he said, “In Europe, the word ‘saving is removed from their (economic) dictionary.” He added that the reason the European countries are facing this crisis has a lot to do with the debt-driven economics that they follow.
He added that savings have come down because family as an entity has collapsed. “It will take 15-20 years for savings in India to come down.” Vaidyanathan also added that one third of the world gold is bought by Indians and now, this method has been followed by China as well.