Sunday, December 21, 2014

'Make for India' makes more sense than 'Make in India'

Recently, the current RBI governor Raghuram Rajan (http://www.financialexpress.com/article/economy/official-takes-dig-at-rbi-guv-raghuram-rajan-over-pm-narendra-modis-make-in-india-campaign/21232/), made a somewhat controversial statement saying that 'Make for India' makes better sense than 'Make in India'. Initially, I did not pay a lot of attention to this. But after thinking a bit I think Raghuram Rajan has a point here, particularly when you think in longer terms.

To be at the top of the economy, or as a driving force, I believe, one needs to be a 'innovation driven' economy. To be an innovation driven economy, we need to solve local problems, and then scale them up globally. If you look at all the startups in the US, they all start locally, solve local problems, and then find a global audience. They drive the world, they drive the money. Where as if you look at what happens in China - they are primarily manufacturing hub, which is quite akin to 'Make in India' campaign. The problem with this is that, at the end of the day, you don't have the clout - over platforms and standards - that define next wave of development. You end up being just a 'worker' in the whole scheme of things - not the one who solves problems. This is what make me support 'Make for India' idea, than the other more funded and visible campaign.

A totally different context, but I think there are some parallels in this video: