Sometimes, India can be a depressing place to be in. As the French saying goes: Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose. That is, the more things change, the more they remain the same. Sure, ours is the second-fastest growing of the world's top economies, but we still benchmark ourselves against our own historical growth rates, and not against faster-growing economies. More than 50 years after Independence, we are still faced with crippling power shortages, pot-holed roads that pass for highways, antiquated airport and seaport facilities, and one of the least developed social sectors. We have to invest billions of dollars in each if we are to become a modern economic superpower.

No doubt, we have made rapid strides in manufacturing and services sectors, which, combined, are three times the agricultural sector today, but we still look hopefully at the monsoon clouds to predict how well the economy will do that particular year. We are the second-largest producer of wheat, but more than a quarter of our people live below the poverty line, because the surplus foodgrains, instead of being shipped to the hungry, are allowed to rot in government-owned warehouses. The stockmarkets are shallow and lifeless, and our financial behemoths stink with the smell of growing NPAs.

The bureaucracy, of course, remains as stifling as ever, even as we pay lip-service to reforms. The government's biggest expenses are not on development, but on unproductive factors such as wages and debt servicing. It doesn't matter what party or parties form(s) the government. Their preoccupation still is petty politics and not nation-building, which can only happen if there is a robust economic agenda. That's a reason why while smaller nations such as Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea and many others have become globally competitive, a country several times bigger and with greater human capital and natural resources, trails behind. One of our main tragedies, I think, is that we are a smart people with a dumb government.

Ironically, though, out of this morass of contradictions emerge Winners. Considering the constraints they are faced with, it's a miracle that we have any Winners at all. Look at it services, pharmaceuticals, or even manufacturing. You'll find companies that have beaten the odds through sheer dint of commitment to become a global force in their industries. And that's what this special issue on the occasion of our 11th Anniversary is all about-winning. It is an attempt to put aside the usual gloom and doom that we so like to wallow in, and focus on winning. To look at what we have achieved, what we can achieve, and all the Winners-Indian people and companies-in India and elsewhere in the world. Believe me, you'll be surprised at what you discover.

At the end of it, you will conclude-like I have-that India can win. It can become the global economic powerhouse of its dreams. For that we will, first, have to shed our celebrated fatalism, learn to draw up strategies independent of the government, take the plunge and invest in infrastructure, think global and, above all, have the courage to dream big and believe in ourselves.

On that happy note, let me wish you a happy and prosperous new year.

AROON PURIE