KirKS;295288For doing Top-down planning, you need:-
Top intellect with proper training. I read somewhere that majority of the politburo members at Beijing are engineers
Need time to carry forward one's vision into action. 3 to 5 years is not sufficient.
Fear of punishment, all the way into execution, for corruption. (Still some crooks will always beat the system)
Ruthlessness to take unpopular decisions like permit system into metros (selective migration from rural areas), demolishing slums (can't do in votebank politics), taking on anyone who is a 'pain' in your path (even google wasn't spared), arm twisting even the world's most powerful motor companies to share trade secrets if they want a share of growth pie... etc.
Compare that to India wherein there's no minimum intellect or demonstrated 'relevant' experience eligibility criteria. Ministries are awarded based on coalition politics power politics, rather than on merit. A minister for heavy industries may not know anything about engineering at all in India. The first few years are always for looting and only then real work starts. By then the guard is changed, so only loot continues. No punishment for abuse of system. Incapable of being ruthless where a government should be.
Completely agree why it works in China and why it can't here. I was trying to answer your OP question of "What makes Chinese pull through something like this while India and other countries can't match even 20%.."
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But still, I think there are many things that India can learn from China, even keeping systemic limitations on the table. My interest is to find out what they could be from more knowledgeable members here.
Some key learnings from China that come to mind that can be implemented here (at least partially):
- Focus singularly on building enabling infrastructure. Remove procedural roadblocks, and build sufficient capacity each time you build anything - build for 5-10 years later, not 10 years ago, as there are significant economies of scale
- Focus on identifying and addressing other macro longer term issues/constraints to growth - acquire commodity assets abroad, build wide coalitions, build numerous universities, establish a well thought out plan for skill-based immigration etc
- Set the right incentives for local governments (could be done by deciding allocations based on past performance) and increase internal accountability manifold; Aggressively reduce bureaucracy and redesign processes from scratch if needed
- Improve environment for FDI manifold (this can be done even if you are suspicious of foreign companies). Foreign companies are thirsty for any action in India and China. Don't create unnecessary barriers and uncertainties for them
- Focus on quality of any initiatives in addition to quantity, and aggressively track metrics for past performance
- Focus government spending on right priorities. Reduce subsidies and other economically wasteful spending, and plough that money into infrastructure buildout and education
- THINK BIG
