Transformers... are we Decepticons or Autobots?

Tomorrow, India will swear in our first female president. It's only taken 57 years, and the post is considered largely ceremonial as compared to the Prime Minister, but it's still a huge step. Plus, we've already had a female prime minister, too. I think it's a great step towards getting away from the gender bias that has plagued the country for so long.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has officially categorized India as a 'transforming' country rather than 'developing'. US State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack said:

"India is now taking a different place on the global stage, in terms of diplomacy, politics and economy."

Great news, except that this means the US is cutting its aid to India by 35 per cent to $81 million dollars in 2008 because of this change in status.

So, while countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq are being given larger pieces of the pie, because they are being categorized as 'developing,' programs such as the U.S.-funded QUEST (which partners with technology companies like Lucent and Microsoft to teach critical skills in Indian classrooms) may not survive because of these cuts.

It's hard to know what to make of all this. I'd like to say that India will do fine on its own and more independence is a good thing but when 80 percent of the country still lives on less than $2 a day, it's hard.

But I think (hope) what will probably happen is that the technology revolution that we're seeing in India today is going to drive a lot of change. I also think that large American tech companies will continue to spend money on programs like Quest and others because they see the value behind funding a growing economy. And I'd much rather have private aid than government aid.

Either way, 2008 is going to be an interesting year for the Indian economy.