India Rising: People Shining

by Prof. Bernd Thomsen

First appeared in Annual Research Journal Samvid. Personalities such as Shrikant Datar (Harvard University), Arun Maira (BCG, TATA Group) and Prof. Bernd Thomsen (THOMSEN GROUP) were selected to contribute their expertise to this Annual Research Journal. Here is the article by Prof. Bernd Thomsen:

This article is a tribute to the people of India but cautions about obstacles that need to be arrested.

India is a rapidly growing economy and a strong force to reckon with. A unique set of parallel realities co-exist in this country, with bountiful faith in the mysterious powers of the universe. The weave of belief and hard work define the fabric of the Indian economy. As the world watches India’s march to the podium of superpowers, it has much to learn from this nation. Global innovation criteria, national economic parameters and culture make India one of the world’s most important innovators.

I would like to draw your attention to my country, Germany. When I was born in Germany, World War II had been over since almost 20 years. I landed in the middle of ‘Golden Age Capitalism’, a period of unusually stark economic growth and high income growth, extending from the end of World War II till the Oil crisis in 1973. The post war boom in my homeland of West Germany was described and perceived as the so called Economic Miracle. The end of a war is usually accompanied by grave economic crisis; However, in Germany, this was not so. The end of the war in 1945 brought a high demand for consumer products. The post war boom was considered as a period which marked German development for a long time and the reasons for the boom can be found in the German economic policy. A fundamental reason is that Germany rolled up its sleeves, people wanted to create afresh from the rubble and ashes. at was long ago. While at that time hungry for success, today the German fire seems to have lost its colour. Yes, Germany continues to be a successful national economy today, but I often wonder where the unrelenting commitment is. But I see that same deep fire in the Indian people and the urge to work hard and excel at any cost.

The People of India are the Power of India, the gold dust which will make the country a bird of gold, once again.

My extensive travels to India, and within the country, have made me realise a few things about this vast and vastly diverse country. These observations can be categorised into the following categories:

The human factor:

No later than since my rst teaching assignment in India, I knew why the world counts on India. e many facts that I mention below are indisputable, even if each of these is not very well known. I may lose favours back home because of my next statement, but I will still attempt a comparison between the mind-sets of the two countries. While today, modern Germans seek a favourable work life balance, Indians are relentlessly working harder. ey have the zeal to succeed. In comparison to a university back home (starting late into the morning) what I experienced in Mumbai with my students was quite di erent. Regardless of the day of the week, everyone worked intensively and punctually from early morning till evening. In addition to this, some other students (not the ones I was teaching) heard about me and requested me for an extra-curricular, voluntary teaching assignment. e suggestion: from 21.00 to 23.00 hours. Exhilarated by their enthusiasm, I naturally said yes! People in India are de ned by hard work.

Government factors:

On the other hand, those who cannot deal with mankind, nor with other influencing factors for innovation and economic prosperity, will probably be limited to the usual stereotypes to which emerging countries are exposed: Restricted access to electricity and transport, weak infrastructure, underdeveloped supply chains and low per capita income. Whoever limits his or her thinking in this way will hardly notice the Indian government’s resolve to move ahead and the economic reforms, such as the ‘Make in India’ Strategy: By 2022, the share of industrial production in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) should rise from 16% at present to 25% and 100 million new jobs should be created.

Innovation and Research faculties’ factor:

With more than 1,000 R & D centres, India is already an essential and integrated part of their global innovation networks for many multinational companies. India justifies its Innovation Leadership. Let’s have a look how: In process innovation (at any point in the value chain), driven by the historical need to conserve resources and minimize waste, Indian companies shine. Examples are the pharmaceutical industry, mechanical engineering, the agrochemical industry, the IT industry and steel production ( The Indian Tata Steel and the German ThyssenKrupp have just united.) In addition, India now has strong research and development bodies, to name two of the leading names: The Indian Institute of Technology belongs (in the automotive sector) to the ten most productive and innovative R & D facilities in the world, and Cadila Healthcare is one of the most distinguished innovators in the field of Heterocycles worldwide (division: chemistry / organic chemistry).

Cultural and social factors:

India is a playground of cultural diversity. It is also a learning ground for tolerance and peaceful co-existence. Cultural diversity negates social differences. Whether under the name Holi, Shimga, Shigmo, Phaga, Dol Yatra or Kamadahana. The fact that it may take two, or in some places in India up to ten days of celebration, it is celebrated in same fervour. When, on the full moon day of the month of Phalgun in February and March, the Indian Festival of Colors, Holi begins, and marks not only the end of winter, but also the beginning of spring which is celebrated nevertheless with a display of joy of life and India’s worldliness. Because of the colourful faces, social differences play no role. However, the high cultural diversity is present all year round. The diversity of the influences and the high tolerance towards them promote the creative potential of the people (who are accustomed per se, to cope with changing conditions, adapt themselves and indeed develop this change positively). While the US is currently fighting for this and has made a president like Trump possible, the people of India do not oppose globalization, but accept it as a gift.

A combination of social characteristics of Indian people sets them apart and makes them a unique work force. To list a few:

Entrepreneurship: There is probably no one who thinks as enterprisingly as Indians. This is either due to tradition (the corresponding social box), ambition (a new middle class) or from pure necessity (a German would say: necessity is the mother of all invention).

Money: The culture of dealing with money is well developed (for example a good feeling investment). There is an openness to taking risks with money. This accelerates and promotes growth.

Vision: Very high expression of visionary thinking in many parts of the world population, coupled with high willingness to improvise.

Trade: The cultural background as “tradesmen” lets Indians perfect the skill of trade.

Change: Change is part of the Indian cultural DNA. Hinduism coined a cyclical culture, in which life is in permanent change. In India (polytheistic) there are infinitely many truths - Creativity and Innovation are boundless. As early as July 26, 2017, I therefore congratulated India’s Prime Minister

@ PMOIndia: “(India is the fastest growing major economy, with China close behind): Congrats! Strongest force of #India are amazing Indian people.”Education: 89% of the Indians confess that lifelong learning is a “natural” topic. In comparision, USA: 75%, China: 73%, Germany: 65% and UK: 62%.

If one were to analyse and evaluate the seven intrinsic and extrinsic innovation factors it would become clear why India has a strong potential for a bright future.

? Innovative thinking.

? Corporate culture.

? Flat organizational structures.

? Cross-functional cooperation.

? Mobility between enterprises.

? Availability of capital.

? Talented employees

India scores top marks for all factors.

In tune with my observations and interactions within the country and outside, I would predict the following, for India:

1. The Indian nature of innovation (Jugaad) will stimulate 70% of Global GDP in 2030

Jugaad” is a slang word that characterizes the Indian innovative power well: With minimum resources and expenses, achieve the maximum (using all the rules of improvisational art, etc.). Chaos is still cosmopolitan in India, which is quoted from the emotional life of a person living in Germany and determined by rules of people still omnipresent in India. However, chaos creates challenges. And challenges promote exactly that creativity, which is so important for innovation. Innovation that pursues the goal of being able to offer maximum customer utility at the lowest possible price, is ‘Frugal Innovation’: (India is considered as the global centre of frugal innovation). Frugal innovations will play a key role in the coming decades in the innovative landscape of emerging markets. These will be around 2030 contributing approx. 70% of global GDP; thanks to the large customer base, India is an ideal place for implementing frugal solutions.

2. Benefits from positive investment cycle

The Indian economy will profit in the coming years from a positive investment cycle with higher productivity, more jobs and higher wages. With the expansion of infrastructure, large “new” parts of the population can be integrated economically. India has already surpassed China with regards to economic growth. This is especially impressive, as the economy is growing at the same time as substantial economic reforms (e.g. demonetization).

3. The power of youth will benefit the country at a time where most countries will be facing the aging problem

The population of Asia is rapidly aging. By 2042, the number of people over 65 years in Asia, will be much more than in the Eurozone and North America put together. While China as well as Japan will be confronted with this ageing in the next decades, India will have a high proportion of young people to its total population. This results in positive effects on consumption and the labour market. Moreover, India’s labour force potential is growing over the next 20 years from 88 million to 1.08 billion people and will take half a century to draw this scale. The growing workforce will be much better trained and prepared than the current ones.

4. Phenomenal growth in infrastructure for innovation

More and more innovation in infrastructure is emerging in India (for example Innovation hubs, etc.). After the great global value chain optimization and IT implementation projects of the last 10 years, experienced and qualified Indian specialists from all over the world have returned to India and support the development of this infrastructure. These people would now like to take a new path to exploit and further grow their experience, resulting in a new power of innovation in India. IBM is one of the companies which was inspired by this breeding ground. The company now employs 130,000 people in India - more than what it employs in the United States. “IBM India is truly a microcosm of the IBM Group,” said Vanitha Narayanan, who heads the company’s business in the Asian subcontinent. Compared to 2007, the number of IBM employees has approximately doubled.

While success against morbid corruption was attained, there is a serious threat to India’s growth which lurks in the form of intolerance towards religious minorities. If they are subjected to attacks and opposing minds, India would not only lose its democratic legitimacy, but also lose its most valuable assets for success - the force of free will. I cannot emphasise enough on the power of people that India has. The people of India will be the biggest strength for the country’s growth. To recognize this, one does not have to deal with the German economic miracle of the post-war generation. But it helps to recognize: In India, the human factor is more than anything else, the Power of India. People are the gold dust which will make the country a bird of gold, once again.