Harsh and I have co-authored a piece on the size of the Union Government: Food, steel, communications, aviation, agriculture, petroleum, renewable energy, shipping, chemicals, tourism, coal, power, science & technology, broadcasting, textiles, mining, and housing. These are not just some…
India is regarded as the world’s outsourcing center and a production powerhouse for generic drugs. Information technology and pharmaceutical companies have lent the India story a rich layer thanks to their reputations for efficiency. Aside from creating hundreds of thousands…
Doing business in India can be overwhelming for somebody accustomed to working in a more hospitable business environment. The World Bank’s Doing Business study ranks India 134th worldwide for ease of doing business, behind lesser-talked- about nations such as Tanzania and Ghana. Besides…
Much has been made of the theory that there are “two Indias” – one that is experiencing rapid economic growth and progress, and the other that is being “left behind”, so to speak. The political rhetoric of these two images…
Telecom Minister A. Raja finally resigned yesterday after what seemed like doggedly denying wrongdoing and corruption in 2G spectrum allocation. The media has been jubilant about having an impact on the Government, claiming credit for exposé after exposé that has…
Both Indian industry and the government agree that the economy needs a spurt of innovation. While industry has produced innovations such as the Tata Nano, the government has proposed to create dedicated venture funds for start-ups in certain areas. A…
I spent the weekend attending the Young Investigator Meeting in Boston (YIM). Held at the Harvard-MIT Broad Institute and organized by a group of energetic and enthusiastic scientists, YIM Boston brought together scientists, policy makers and the heads of some…
The transportation sector in India is witnessing rapid growth as India urbanizes and the economy continues to expand. Car sales for July recorded a jump of 38% from a year earlier, rising to an all-time high. Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Kolkata…
Every Independence Day, one’s thoughts inevitably veer around to the abject poverty and destitution that consumes most of India. After more than 60 years of Independence, why do we continue to have widespread poverty? Watching “Peepli Live” — a fantastic…