India Jumps 30 Places Higher in World Bank Rankings: Update on “Thousands of Hindu Gods – Made in China”

© 2017, Farok J. Contractor, Rutgers Business School This is an update to my September 7, 2017 post, in which I described seven reasons why India’s manufacturing competitiveness still lags behind China’s — but also how the Modi government is taking steps to alleviate the bottlenecks. (See reader comments in the original post.) Click for PDF of … Continue reading India Jumps 30 Places Higher in World Bank Rankings: Update on “Thousands of Hindu Gods – Made in China”

Thousands of Hindu Gods – Made in China: Seven Bottlenecks to Indian Manufacturing

NOTE: THIS POST WAS UPDATED ON NOVEMBER 13, 2017. A version of the original post also appeared as an article on YaleGlobal Online October 24, 2017 as  Made in China: Millions of Hindu Gods. An embarrassing tale about India’s manufacturing competitiveness. But there is hope. © 2017, Farok J. Contractor, Rutgers Business School Images of Deities … Continue reading Thousands of Hindu Gods – Made in China: Seven Bottlenecks to Indian Manufacturing

Some Reflections on Mahatma Gandhi’s Birthday

© 2014 Prof. Farok J. Contractor, Rutgers University I used to have some doubts about the suitability of Mohandas (“Mahatma”) Gandhi (1869–1948) to participate actively in the governance of post-independence India. Some of his ideas would have been antithetical to the development of large-scale industries, where scale is needed for efficiency. Often portrayed spinning his own … Continue reading Some Reflections on Mahatma Gandhi’s Birthday

What Drives Narendra Modi? – Swami Vivekananda and Hsuan Tsang

© 2014 Prof. Farok J. Contractor, Rutgers University *An expanded version of this article was published in the June 21, 2014 edition of Parsiana—International Zoroastrian Community Magazine as a “Comment” under the title “What drives Narendra Modi? Hindu reformist Swami Vivekananda’s ideals and Chinese traveller Hsuan Tsang have helped to shape the new Prime Minister’s worldview.” Click here for the PDF: What … Continue reading What Drives Narendra Modi? – Swami Vivekananda and Hsuan Tsang

The Indian Election: A Rare Historic Opportunity for Coherent Investment Policies in India

© 2014 Prof. Farok J. Contractor, Rutgers University For the past 30 years, India has been governed by a series of raucous coalition governments. At least some of the caution, vacillation, and even backtracking on investment and taxation policies that have dismayed foreign companies contemplating foreign direct investment (FDI) in India can be attributed to this. … Continue reading The Indian Election: A Rare Historic Opportunity for Coherent Investment Policies in India