The Nobel laureate and economist discusses India's flawed development model and how it can be improved to lower poverty.
By John Paul O'Malley, Al Jazeera, 08 Aug 2013

India should learn from neighbouring Bangladesh about how to tap the energy of women in its efforts to spur development, according to Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen.

China also provides a valuable model of how the state - long held in low esteem by free-market philosophers - can play a key role in building a successful market economy, the Harvard professor argues.

Despite India's rapid economic growth rates over the last three decades, other areas of Indian society have been ignored, he asserts in his latest book.

"In most of the social indicators, Bangladesh has gone ahead of India," said Sen. "The lesson here is about focusing on women and gender: led not just by state policy but also by the NGOs which are so important in Bangladesh: they have consistently focused on women's agency in particular."

In a wide-ranging interview, the economist discusses where India has gone wrong in the past, and what it can do to overcome its current challenges [....]