Sen Says India Uses Rural Labor Less Effectively Than China Does

The Indian economy, on the whole, does not use its labor resources so productively as the Chinese Communsits do, Amartya K. Sen, Visiting Professor of Economics at M.I.T., stated last night at the International Relations Club's panel on Indian growth.

In answer to a question concerning the relative merits of Indian socialism and Chinese Communism, particularly in the field of agriculture, Sen remarked that the Chinese are exceptionally successful in utilizing rural labor in construction and related fields. In contrast, 15 million Indians, mainly in rural areas, remain unemployed. Sen called this situation a "tremendous waste of resources," but he viewed Communism as an unacceptable alternative.

In addition to Sen's comment on the economic situation in India, problems of Indian planning, government, and journalism comprised the major part of the evening's discussion. Three other Indians, all students at the University, talked about the problems India faces in their respective fields.

Problems on Local Level

Gian C. Baveja, a deputy secretary of a local Indian government, spoke of the problems of economic planning and democratic development on the local level.

He remarked that the public sector of the economy in India accounts for about 60 per cent of the investment in the country. The consequent growth of public corporations has created a difficult problem of supplying a new managerial class.

Brij N. Swarup, Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in India, spoke of the new methods his country is developing for recruitment of these managers.