IT is a paradox that the capitalist world which dictates and defines the norms of the global economy should look towards India, a developing economy, for coming out of the economic mess which incidentally is their own creation.

The creation of the G 20 had made it abundantly clear that developing countries had a role to play in shaping the global economy, but the deliberations at the Toronto summit of the G 20 and the advice of the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh to the industrialised states to follow India’s model of economic policy makes it amply clear that the capitalist world has lost the path.
It was not without reason that the US President, Mr Barrack Obama complimented him as a global leader at the Toronto meet and observed: “The extraordinary leadership that Prime Minister Singh has provided not just to India but to the world has helped us navigate through some very difficult times.” While India which till recently was described as a bad economy has managed to survive the global meltdown and come out of the recessionary crisis, most of the advanced countries, particularly the UK and European countries were still perishing under its impact. Little wonder their quest for forcing reforms and globalisation, particularly on the third world and developing economies, much against the spirit of the Washington Consensus has made them fall in their own trap.          
The inability to comprehend the real nature of the crisis could be understood from the fact that the newly elected British Prime Minister, Mr David Cameron instead of looking for proper remedial measure preferred to cut the budget deficit. Even at this stage he should listen to the advice of Dr Singh, contractionary policies of the industrialised countries could provoke a double-dip recession. Advanced countries should not practice protectionism and strike a balance between stimulus measures to sustain economic expansion and reduce fiscal deficit to tackle the mess of government finances. In fact Dr Singh’s prescription to the capitalist world was precise; “industrial countries should not exit fiscal stimulus either in a hurry or altogether, because, at the present moment, as world faces much greater risk of deflation than of inflation.”
The Toronto deliberations and global appreciation of Dr Singh’s economic approach should be an eye opener for the reforms lobby in India which has been accusing him of being slow in carrying out reforms. In their hurry to get benefit out of the reforms they have been creating unwarranted pressure on the government. They ought not to forget that any reform should be India-centric and not be mere carbon copies only to take care of the interests and needs of the private sector. They should lay their ears to what Mr Obama has to say about Dr Singh: “I can tell you that here at G20, when the prime minister speaks, people listen”. Listen to what Dr Singh says.