Are flights important if only 5.5% of Indians hold a passport?

India can never be the next China, and shouldn't even try, wrote R Sharma.  China created Special Economic Zones and, "The authorities also closed thousands of rusting state factories, which threw tens of millions out of work. With no social safety net, many were forced to find new livelihoods in the burgeoning private sector, which was responsible for the subsequent decades of double-digit growth." India has a multitude of social schemes and every new government adds some more. Since the list was published, 8 states have implemented farm loan waiver at a cost of Rs 1.9 trillion, the central government is to spend Rs 75,000 on handing out Rs 6,000 to an estimated 120 million farmers with landholding of less than 2 hectares each, and Ayushman Bharat will cover medical costs up to Rs 500,000 for 100 million poor families. "India has tinkered with free-market reforms, but only under pressure from economic crises, not as a steady long term strategy like China." Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also "continued on a path of gradual change". With an economy more than 5 times the size of India, China is far ahead defensively and diplomatically, wrote I Marlow. India barely has more diplomats than Singapore. V Kaul compared 5 years of Modi government with the previous 5 years of Manmohan Singh government. In 11 out of 15 economic indicators, including vehicle sales, cement production, consumption of steel and household financial savings, Singh did better than Modi. Singh's first term was even better. Modi should learn from his mistakes in his first term which he can rectify in his second, wrote R Jagannathan. He should have specified what he was looking to achieve so as not build expectations too high, he should have tackled bad loans at banks right at the beginning and he was obsessed with black money which is why he resorted to demonetization, which slowed economic growth. He should have set up an economic advisory council which would have packaged his activities in political terms. He didn't because he thought that social schemes would suffice. "There was practically no month or quarter in the first half of Modi's tenure when a new scheme was not launched." Despite his vociferous 'campaign' against corruption Modi has not appointed a Lok Pal, has crippled the Right to Information Act by not appointing officials, protected corrupt civil servants from investigation and increased dirty money in elections by allowing donations through anonymous bonds, wrote Bhardwaj and Johri. Modi gambled on demonetization and Balakot strike within Pakistan which paid off in electoral gain, wrote TK Arun. In revenge, Pakistan closed its airspace to civilian flights to and from India. As a result United Airlines has suspended flights to Delhi and Air India has lost Rs 3 billion having to fly south and then over Gujarat and Arabian Sea. What it will do to business only God knows. Only 5.5% of Indians possess a passport. Which leaves 94.5% for social schemes. Logical.