This article will proceed with the following topics:
- Status Quo: India
- Balaji’s Arguments on India to be a Tech. & Media Superpower
- Opportunities for India & Indians
- Conclusion
- The Balaji Podcast
What do we think about when we think about India?
Yoga, Maths, Monks, Modi! Do we think about the Software Hub or a Media Superpower?
In The Balaji Podcast, Balaji Srinivasan a renowned entrepreneur proposes that India has the potential to be a Media & Tech Superpower in the upcoming decades. The rise of blockchain can be the rise of India.
His arguments are sharp but very thoughtful. This article aims to take a closer look into these arguments proposed by Balaji Srinivasan and present you with a better understanding of the subject.
Status Quo: India
For a long time, India has been seen as a country of great potential. The reason being, the 3Ds; Democracy, Demography & Demand. This has brought many foreign businesses to see India as a huge marketplace. But after the 1991 reforms, India saw a rise in the IT Sector and since then has been a major player in the global software industry.
Due to no previous hierarchy, in the software industry, we saw companies like TCS & Infosys compete at a global scale. Today, the Digital India initiative has brought technology into government administration facilitating the Digital space even more. Thanks to Reliance Jio, India now provide the most affordable data in the world making India the country with the 2nd highest number of people using the Internet, only after China.
Despite these big leaps, Balaji suggests in his tweet below:
Currently, India is the 6th largest economy in the world. But Balaji is not the only optimistic about the future of India, Mukesh Ambani, one of the richest men in the world said at a conference held on 28 December 2021 “India will become one of the top three economies in the world.”
On the other hand, Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi has taken up the challenge of making India a $5 trillion economy by 2024–25.
There is an optimism about the rise of India. However, Balaji emphasizes not to be over optimistic about it. He says, “not be irrationally optimistic, but to realize yeah! we can do it.”
Balaji’s Arguments on India to be a Tech. & Media Superpower
Balaji says he is Moderately bullish on India but Extremely bullish on Indians, i.e. that India as a country has done in the last 7 decades but Indians have done even better. Today India has the largest overseas diaspora of about 32 million people.
This indicates the fact that Indians are willing to migrate for the purpose of work at a global scale and have been very successful at that. Balaji argues that in the coming years there will be more and more Indians willing to perform at the global level.
There are many more indicators which suggest the same; India has a young population and huge one as well, they speak english, they have access to the cheapest Data in the world and have been successful abroad. Further suggesting the fact that India will definitely do well and we will see a rise in migration which will allow Indians to do even better. The CEOs of the biggest tech. companies are Indians and being a part of the Indian network will be of even greater significance and opportunity in the future.
The second major argument that Balaji proposes is that India can be no. 1 in everything, “Digitally”. The reason for this is India’s previous experience with Mathematics and Software. After the 1991 reforms the software industry has boomed in India, as there were no previous hierarchies in the software industry like the other fields. The future of the world is software and India can provide it better than anyone. To achieve this milestone he presents “The Software Strategy”.
The idea is to pursue what India does best and use it to get into other areas of significance i.e. Software + Media, Money, Manufacturing, Medicine, Mars & Multilateral Institutions. The U.S. is in the Descending world and India is the part of the Ascending world. Balaji said, “The Brooklyn Nepotists have inherited everything and because they haven’t built, they feel guilt” ,which shows the difference in accomplishment & privilege of the American. Presenting a great opportunity for India to build its future with pride.
Firstly, India becoming a media superpower does not mean Hollywood turning bollywood. Instead, it means we will see more Indian startups and Media houses catering to a global audience.The deciline of U.S. media is evident, with time we are seeing more and more sequels and reruns. There is a pure lack of creativity.
Secondly, India needs to push robotics and automation. This would require a lot of software expertise such as Machine Learning & AI. Balaji, proposes that India can achieve self-sufficiency using Robotic autarky, eroding China manufacturing advantage with automation and then export robotic autorky to the rest of the world. Indian firms such as Grey Orange and Diaper.com have done quite well in robotics supporting previous experience of India in Robotics.
The third big opportunity is India being the Astro launchpad of the world. This directs Indian investors to take stakes in the space startups. While U.S. and China are building Military bases all across the world India should build Space launchpads and support space startups all over the world. ISRO has a very competitive cost of launch in comparison to SpaceX today and even more experience which will help India get ahead in the space race.
Last but not the least, India has to work on building the next generation of multilateral Institutions. The new world does not want a U.S. led order, but the people don’t want the current order to be replaced by a Chinese led order, which creates a Void. India can fill that void by building the next post war order, i.e. to replace the US-controlled multilateral institutions with neutral networks and nationstacks. Giving the world a 3rd option, i.e. neither US nor China. But Balaji does not see India as a leader of the new world, instead he sees it as the bootloader of the free world, which is more fair than the current one.
He proposes, while U.S. & China compete to win, India can win & help-win with the rest of the world.
Opportunities for India & Indians
If Balaji’s theories came true it would be great for India, but in any case Indians will have opportunities to rise. In the upcoming years, we will see more progress in the tech Industry. We will see more of Blockchain & Crypto will be the foundation of the creators economy and this will be the place where more & more jobs will be created.
What we need to do is to get rid of the carb in the bucket mentality i.e. a way of thinking best described by the phrase “if I can’t have it, neither can you”. This is a sufficient place for everyone to adopt a Win & Help-win mentality. We have done it before with Indian Cricket and we can do it with tech & Media as well.We have the largest number of Engineers, a young population, Great diversity and being really good at software will compound the Indian leverage overtime. Balaji suggests, for those who are not good at engineering, they can get good at content. The content is the icing on the cake and will give the software more and more utility.
Conclusion
The decentralization of power will create many job opportunity for the creaters. Anyone with the internet can earn a living. What Balaji proposes is that, we need to break are previous perceptions of this world and look at it from a new angle. We need to understand that wealth can be created, through innovation and creativity. The world is changing and we need to change with it. Web 1.0 connected the world, Web 2.0 gave us everything we see today on the internet but the chaos of Web 3.0, will liberate us.
As balaji says, “You create order, from disorder.”
