As India marks 35 years since the landmark economic reforms of 1991, the nation stands at a Janus-like moment of reflection and forward planning. The reforms, initiated to pull the country from a crisis, delivered substantial gains but left an incomplete agenda, particularly in job creation. While China, which had a similar per-capita GDP to India in 1991, has raced ahead to become five times wealthier, India's journey highlights a critical need to rethink its approach to entrepreneurship and wealth generation.
The Substantial Gains and Painful Incompleteness of 1991
The transformative impact of the 1991 liberalisation is undeniable. Vehicle ownership has skyrocketed 45 times, while Provident Fund contributions have multiplied by 75. Foreign exchange reserves are up 120-fold, the stock market's value has grown 500 times, and phone connections have surged by an astonishing 600 times. These figures paint a picture of a dynamic, modernising economy.
However, the 'incomplete' label stings. A staggering 45% of India's labour force remains dependent on agriculture. Out of 6.3 crore enterprises, only 8 lakh are formal enough to pay Provident Fund for employees. Manufacturing's share of the workforce is a mere 11%, akin to post-industrial America. This mismatch between economic growth and job formalisation points to a deep-seated ideological hurdle.
The Poison of Zero-Sum Ideology and the Need for Pragmatism
The columnist argues that India's economic lag stems from a persistent 'zero-sum' ideology, which views wealth creation as a predatory act where one person's gain is another's loss. This dated thinking, peddled by entitled dynasts, frames suited-booted entrepreneurs as predators rather than job creators. This suspicion has cost India millions of non-farm jobs.
This mindset is a relic of a pre-industrial past. The modern reality is that thriving entrepreneurs and citizens fuel a welfare state through taxes, creating a cycle of abundance. The divergent prosperity of nations shows that culture matters less than the philosophical choices a society makes about business and innovation.
Five Crucial Revisions for an Entrepreneurial India
To unlock massive job creation and complete the 1991 story, India needs five fundamental revisions in its thinking, drawing pragmatically from global lessons:
1. 'To Get Rich is Glorious': Accepting that 'Garibi Hatao' (Remove Poverty) is impossible without 'Ameeri Banao' (Create Wealth). Wealth creation is a powerful motivator and should not be looked down upon.
2. 'Some Will Get Rich Before Others': Inequality and poverty are different. Throwing successful entrepreneurs or prosperous states 'into the Indian Ocean' would reduce inequality but not poverty. Growth must be broad-based but cannot be perfectly simultaneous.
3. 'Cross the River by Feeling the Stones': Policy requires calibrated risk-taking, experimentation, and a willingness to disrupt the status quo. A few effective 'cooks' with a better recipe are preferable to a crowded kitchen.
4. 'Don't Care if a Cat is Black or White if it Catches Mice': Embrace pure pragmatism. Value any state, sector (manufacturing or services), or firm (domestic or foreign) that creates high-wage, non-farm jobs, moving beyond ideological preferences.
5. 'When You Open the Window, Some Flies Will Get In': Accept that policy cannot be designed solely to prevent fraud. Using isolated cases like Satyam or Nirav Modi to justify overly prescriptive laws and excessive criminalisation of economic offences causes collective economic self-harm.
These revisions, paraphrasing the pragmatic approach of Deng Xiaoping, are not about idealising China but about learning from the principles that enabled mass prosperity flows in China and high per-capita GDP stock in America. With both these models under internal stress today, India's moment is ripe.
The 2026 Reform Agenda and the Path Forward
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has outlined an ambitious reform agenda for 2026, focusing on deregulation, decriminalisation, digitisation, decentralisation, and redefining democracy's interface with the administrative state. This agenda aligns with the aspiration to write a 'new story for a new era.'
Rethinking entrepreneurship in these five ways is a critical precondition for this new story's success. As economist Gita Gopinath warns of potential global economic turmoil, India's best preparation is to foster domestic economic and technical entrepreneurship. The nation's poverty, framed not as a lie but as a disappointment, can be addressed by finally picking up the incomplete threads of the 1991 story and weaving a future of abundant job creation.
