Author Nanden Nilekani, co-founder of Infosys, traces the ideas that shaped India's past and present, and looks forward into its future.
India's socialist ethos is still dominant, rooted in abuses from early British rule, memories of the Great Depression, and greatly exaggerated growth statistics from the Soviet Union's early days. Initially, after gaining independence, entry into industries set aside for the private sector was regulated through a licensing system, and the government controlled pricing of commodities. This spawned massive expansion of a slow-moving bureaucracy, the opportunity for corruption, and eventual change. Until that change occurred, businesses procured multiple licenses to preempt competition, resulting in most industries having just 1-2 competitors, poor quality, and high prices. The 1980s and 1990s brought change out of frustration and a nearly bankrupt government treasury. De-licensing, dismantling price controls in some industries, lowering tariffs, and changed tax policy that no longer sapped profits brought reinvestment, growth, and a 5X multiplication in government revenues (aka Arthur Laffer) in ten years. Annual growth has exceeded 6% since the early 1990s, a record in history exceeded only by China. Nilekani, however, conceded that much more remains to be done - India still ranks below China and Pakistan in ease of doing businesses (especially new start-ups), and he doubts any businessman could be elected to high office.
Nilekani has no doubts that India's Democracy is superior to China's government, and cites China's tumult under Mao and even since as evidence. However, his contention that India's laissez faire approach to birth control will be more effective than China's mandated "one-child" rule is not compelling. India has endured 30 famines between 1770 and 1950 - entire provinces saw a third of their population disappear; 50% of its population is too young to vote. Growth has decreased, mostly due to reduced infant mortality, but still exceeds that in China. Both nations have significant selective births - 925 females vs. 1,000 males in India, and 855 vs. 1,000 in China.
India has the largest number of official languages - 22. The total number of languages used ranges from 150 to 1,500, depending on the definition. The English language, like capitalism, has gone through ups and downs in India. The British first encouraged it as a means of employing locals to replace high-cost British civil servants. This tainted the language with an association to imperialism. Then it was promoted as a means of blocking Hinduism and its caste system. Now outsourcing has made English the entry ticket to a global economy, as well as a unifying factor within India. About 30% are literate in English; overall, about 1/3 the population is illiterate in any language.
IT in India has been opposed by unions - especially in banking. This changed in 1993 when foreign banks and their IT were allowed in. Scandal in India's then manual stock market, voting fraud, delays in irregularities land record-keeping have brought major inroads for IT use.
Education is another source of pride and frustration. Teachers have been guaranteed representation in Legislative Councils, and used that power to limit change. About one-third of children are now enrolled in cheap private schools, and 7,000 public schools are empty in one state. Some innovations have taken place - eg. kiosks dispensing educational videos, private school start-ups aided by packaged courses of study, but these do not include vouchers.
And so "Reimagining India" proceeds from one topic to the next - each benefiting from the insights of a native resident regarded as expert within that topic.
