Power of 6

Inequality is the raging issue in policy discourses across the world and there are few places where it is more visible than in India.  In India’s crowded cities, the poor and the rich live as neighbours. We effectively operate in a two-tier economy. The first, a more formal economy, is where people like us sit in offices, exchange emails, write LinkedIn posts - and live comfortably.  The other economy has been formed to serve this more formal economy where the output is activities like farmers producing food, guards sitting outside gates, maids cleaning our houses and chaiwallas serving us in office.  

For India to develop, these economies need to move beyond interacting at the periphery. The primary economy has to subsume the secondary economy: the farmer has to work in a factory, security has to move inside the building he’s guarding and the chaiwalla work in a barista. Bridging this dichotomy is no easy task, will take time and only the government has the authority, resources and mandate to create the conditions to facilitate this transformation. But in the meanwhile, as we wait for these structural reforms, what do people like us, seeking the best for our country do? Most Indians know the problems but are crippled by their inadequacy to do anything about it.

I believe in the power of 6. This can make a big impact. For everyone who touches our lives  such as the maid who works in our house, the guard who protects our home, the driver who takes us to our office and the office boy who brings our tea – we can make a difference. We can provide them with a proper pukka house with a functioning toilet. We can make sure their children are educated in good schools and get a fair opportunity to enter the skilled job market. Just through these simple intervention initiatives, we can significantly improve their lives and, more importantly, ensure that the next generation will have a real chance to bridge the gap.  These initiatives will not take much effort nor cost too much (as a percentage of our income or wealth). If each one us 150 odd million rich Indians can help just six people who are already in our lives, it will directly impact the households of more than 900 million. This can transform our country.  Let us do it!