LOOKING AHEAD
and the lives of its people. However, the growth has been skewed with urban India gaining far more rapidly than rural India. So, how can rural India grow at the same pace as urban? There is no postindustrial-revolution precedent for this— anywhere in the world. But India has no other option; 700 million people living in India have to become a part of this eco-
nomic growth. They cannot be asked to wait. It has to innovate to find an answer. The challenge itself becomes an opportunity for a new kind of entrepreneurship, giving rise to start-ups that’ll focus on rural India. They will build ventures that create livelihoods, bring education, generate and distribute power (using renewable resources), enhance farm productivity,
arrest waste, improve supply chains and bring financial services to rural India. Organisations like RTBI and Acumen Fund are already working to create entrepreneurs focused on such tasks. The early results are indeed very promising. However, one has to figure out the challenges of scaling up. In the coming few years, India has no option but to accelerate such efforts.
BY PRADEEP CHOPRA | DIGITAL VIDYA
Indian Businesses in 20:20
The next decade belongs to T20 players
A Brisk Pace Indian businesses are poised to scale up furiously in the next decade.
I love examples and analogies. To me, there isn’t a better and more interesting analogy than Indian business and cricket. Just the way cricket has evolved from the Test Match format to the current, more glamorous T20 one, so has Indian business.
Older business groups, such as Tatas and Ambanis, are the Test Match equivalent of Indian business; while companies such as Airtel and MakeMyTrip surely resemble the One Day players. Though Indian businesses are yet to see the 20:20 players, such as the Facebooks of the world, companies like One97 and iYogi, who have shown extraordinary growth in a short period of time, could be solid contenders. I strongly believe that the true 20:20 champions will emerge in this decade. This shift in the Indian business scenario will be marked by the following characteristics:
“The customer is god for me. Even now, I stand at the door to welcome them. Most don’t even know that I am the owner. They often pass on a 10 or a 20 note as tip.”
— Jayaram Banan, Founder, Sagar Ratna
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INC. | FEBRUARY 2011