There have been many books on the subject of India's explosive growth and what it means to the world. What would you tell people when they ask you about your book?
I am aware that there have been many books on the subject and many more would be coming out. But what I offer is based on my experiences as one of the world's influential industrialists and businessman. The book is a reflection of my own thinking, my achievements and failures, and what I have observed across the country. I have also studied and lived abroad,
especially as a student at MIT. I see things from an American perspective too.
One of the key elements in the book is the tribute I pay to the Indian ingenuity and resilience. I also argue why India and not China is destined to be America's closest working partner. And I question some of the assumptions people like Thomas Friedman (author of The World is Flat and The Lexus and the Olive Tree) have made.
I do not agree with Friedman that software, uploading, outsourcing, offshoring, supply-chaining, are among the key reasons for the rise of Asian countries including India. I argue that technology alone does not make every part of the world equal. Access to technology in itself does not guarantee the creative health of a people.
It is only when the culture thrives with certain essential characteristic -- an inquiring attitude, an emphasis on education, for instance, a healthy economy emerges.
I consider IITs and IIMs elitist, and this does not mean I don't appreciate their contributions to the economies not only in India but also in America. But they produce only a few thousand brilliant graduates each year. We should not forget the creativity and problem-solving attitude across the country, from schools and universities to villages.
Despite all the horrendous problems we have in India, we are still able to prosper and create wealth, we are able to get up and start functioning a few hours after many bombs blow up marketplaces and bus stations as it happened
in New Delhi a few years ago.
I believe technology inherits, and a people invent.
Photograph: Employees at a call centre in New Delhi. Photograph: STR/AFP/Getty Images
Also read: 'India has the innate ability to glocalise'
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