The November 8th announcement of demonetization of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes by Prime Minister Modi caught everyone by surprise. That was the intent. It is, however, widely expected that bank accounts, plastic cards and digital money usage will increase dramatically in the next 12 months. In other words, India will be pushed towards a cashless economy. The purpose of this piece however isn’t...
There was palpable excitement all around on June 16th as the much awaited Startup India policy was to be unveiled. Scores of intrepid, passionate, dedicated, knowledgeable volunteers from multiple groups had worked tirelessly for very many months advocating the need for the administration to recognise startups as legitimate 21st century vehicles for creating jobs and wealth in society. For this...
India is interestingly poised today. About half of India’s 1.25billion people are under the age of 25 and by 2020, India will be the world’s youngest country with an average age of 29. According to the World Bank, India’s will overtake China to become the world’s fastest growing big economy by 2017-18. The scale of opportunity – and of course the challenge – in India is unprecedented. Millions of...
The papers are breathlessly reporting the arrival of “reforms 2.0” while the stock markets are doing what they always do – reacting to rumour, hyperbole, fears, uncertainties and doubts. But reforms 2.0 won’t impact the lives of citizens and won’t create jobs, that most crucial of determinants of the economic well- being of a people. “I’m moving my company to Singapore”, said the CEO of an...
One of the long running debates in the Indian technology entrepreneurial world is whether India will ever engender global product companies or will it be destined to be a purveyor of services and a consumer of products and solutions that are imagined, created and marketed by others. As in most things, and especially true for India, there has to be a reason and there has to be a season for...
Today is India’s 66th Independence Day and the environment around, seems, to be generally shorn of excitement, energy and optimism. However, as is customary on such occasions, a call to the people – all of us – is, well, called for: to galvanise us all to action, to put our shoulders to the wheel of policy making that will make economic activity explode. Such calls for action and indeed, the...
A man with a severe tooth ache goes to the dentist, who upon examining the tooth, assures the man that the problem wasn’t anything serious and that a simple procedure performed under a local anesthesia would help repair the damage. Upon hearing this, the man gets very upset and tells the dentist, “What? Local anesthesia? You think I cannot afford a foreign one?! I demand an imported one!” I...
In 1991, the second Independence of India took place – there was an opening up of the economy that led, in its own tortuous Indian way, to the opening up of the minds of a section of the population. The educated middle class that had till then either left the country for greener pastures or taken up jobs in the government or with the few MNCs operating then started looking around at opportunities...
