Are the BJP's growth agenda and the Congress' focus on welfare incompatible? What must India's priority be? Dr Sen pitches for the Asian model of development, first championed by Japan in the 1860s. He says this model put "the emphasis on making the country fully literate, educated, providing health care providing nutritional support in a way that people are able to work and be productive." He says it is possible to simultaneously pursue economic growth and human development.