Over the past few months, there have been a number of articles in international magazines and newspapers extolling the rise of China and India in the world economy. Phrases like 'the two Asian giants' have become commonplace.
More fanciful commentators have concocted new terms like 'Chindia' to herald the rise of this new global force. Futurologists have speculated about a 'tripolar' scenario of the US, China and India dominating global affairs in a decade or two from now.
All this has stroked our fragile Indian egos no end. It may even have fooled a lot of people into actually believing all this hyperbole. It's time for a cold dash of reality and a few comparative numbers.
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