Ideas of India

Deepika Padmanabhan, a PhD candidate at Yale, dives into the intricate ties between language and identity in South India. She discusses how dominant languages like Hindi and English shape the identities of regional speakers in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The conversation highlights the politics of linguistic diversity, exploring how language acts as a nation-building tool and the implications of imposed languages on local identities. Additionally, she reflects on the complexities of bilingualism and the impact of technology on language accessibility.

Sukrit Puri, a PhD candidate in political science at MIT and Elinor Ostrom fellow, dives into the entanglement of business and politics in India. He discusses how family-run firms differ from management-led businesses in their political engagement and strategic decisions. The conversation highlights the unique relationships family firms maintain with political entities, revealing distinctions in political donations and the impact of new electoral financing schemes. Puri sheds light on the broader implications of these dynamics for corporate responsibility and market behavior.

Rolly Kapoor, a PhD candidate in Economics at UC Santa Cruz, shares her groundbreaking insights on women's urban mobility and employment in India. She discusses her research on how travel buddies significantly boost women's attendance at job interviews by enhancing safety and social support. Kapoor also elaborates on the unique challenges women face while commuting, the implications for job search behavior, and the need for gender-sensitive travel policies. Her work highlights the critical connection between travel safety and female labor force participation.

Ruchir Sharma, Chairman of Rockefeller International and Financial Times columnist, dives into America's economic quandaries and the future of capitalism. He examines alarming debt levels and the pitfalls of US monetary policy. Sharma critiques the cronyism that stifles competition and discusses the fragility of 'zombie companies.' He also tackles demographic challenges, like declining birth rates, impacting growth, and contrasts India's market-driven evolution under Modi with Western approaches, offering insights into navigating fiscal crises.

Amol Agrawal, an author and economics professor at Ahmedabad University, dives into the evolution of banking in India, shedding light on both colonial and post-colonial influences. He discusses the unique attributes of South Canara’s banking success, including fostering community trust and resilience during economic turmoil. The conversation also addresses the challenges of bank failures, the impact of nationalization, and the innovative pygmy deposit scheme aimed at enhancing financial inclusion for the underbanked.

Today my guests are Amartya Lahiri and Devashish Mitra who are joining me to discuss their latest paper for the 1991 project titled India's Development Policy Challenge. Amartya Lahiri is the Royal Bank Research Professor in the Vancouver School of Economics at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Devashish Mitra the Gerald B. and Daphna Cramer Professor of Global Affairs at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University. We spoke about structural transformation and increasing total factor productivity, manufacturing versus services led growth, industrial policy, export led growth, how to employ India's youth in more productive sectors, and much more. Recorded July 29th, 2024. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links. Connect with Ideas of India Follow us on X Follow Shruti on X Follow Amartya on X Follow Devashish on X Click here for the latest Ideas of India episodes sent straight to your inbox. Timestamps (00:00:00) - Intro (00:01:27) - State of India's Structural Transformation (00:08:28) - Has India's Growth Peaked? (00:15:39) - Trade-, Export-, and Manufacturing-Led Growth (00:27:50) - Manufacturing-Led or Services-Led Growth Model? (00:47:16) - Scaling Manufacturing (00:59:38) - Labor Productivity in India (01:06:41) - Rising Protectionism (01:19:44) - Monetary Policy and Trade Policy (01:35:26) - Outro

Anirudh Burman, an associate research director at Carnegie Endowment India and a Harvard Law graduate, delves into India's dysfunctional land markets. He discusses the urgent need for reforms in land use policy, highlighting the challenges of land transfer and consolidation. The conversation also explores innovative approaches like land pooling and leasing, and delves into the complexities of eminent domain law and title insurance. Burman emphasizes the necessity of transparent regulations to optimize land utilization and drive economic growth.

Research scholars Kadambari Shah and Shreyas Narla discuss policy changes for the Indian government, including competition policy, digital marketplace regulation, labor law reforms, manufacturing growth, and GST optimization. They also touch on past budget announcements, challenges in regulating big tech companies, and navigating India's complex regulatory environment.

Sajith Pai, partner at Blume Ventures, discusses the 2024 Indus Valley Annual Report, India's consumer dynamics, fixed capital formation, fintech industry, space tech, and more. Topics include growth of India 2, challenges in the economy, female migration trends, rise of space technology, and book recommendations.

Today my guest is Anne O Krueger. She is a Senior Fellow at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, and the Herald L. and Caroline Ritch Emeritus Professor of Sciences and Humanities in the Economics Department at Stanford University. She served World Bank's Chief Economist from 1982 to 1986, and the first deputy managing director at the IMF from 2001 to 2006. We talked about her famous 1974 paper "The Political Economy of a Rent Seeking Society" on its 50th anniversary, her experience understanding the license permit raj system in India, the 1991 trade liberalization, the Washington consensus, decline of the WTO, the new protectionism in the US, reforming Argentina and much more. Recorded May 17th, 2024. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links. Connect with Ideas of India Follow us on X Follow Shruti on X Click here for the latest Ideas of India episodes sent straight to your inbox. Timestamps (00:00:00) - Intro (00:01:24) - Rent-Seeking in Turkey and India (00:10:49) - Professional Influences (00:15:35) - South Korean Miracle (00:18:53) - Korea vs. India (00:26:19) - Import Substitution and Rent (00:29:15) - Turning Around the World Bank (00:38:59) - The Krueger Consensus (00:42:18) - Africa (00:45:39) - India's 1991 Reforms (00:50:52) - World Trade Organization (00:53:53) - United States and Free Trade (01:02:14) - License Permit Raj in the US (01:04:36) - International Monetary Fund (01:06:47) - Hope for Milei and Argentina (01:11:30) - Looking Back on Success (01:13:31) - Outro