Growth Is Good

Foundation for Economic Development

At Foundation for Economic Development (FED), we believe the evidence clearly shows that economic, GDP-measured growth is critical to improving everyone's standard of living; that it is the single-biggest determinant of human development outcomes such as improved health, education, and employment. Growth is good! It enables everything we cherish - employment, equity and even gender equality! This podcast features insightful conversations with leaders from industry and academia, who share their different perspectives on India's economic growth trajectory, and what we must do to grow further.

  1. 27 MAR

    Growth Is Discovery, Not Design — Why Firms Build Economies Ft. Ajay Shah | Growth is Good | Ep 25

    Ajay Shah is back! And this time, he's going granular.In this episode of Growth is Good, Rahul Ahluwalia and Ajay Shah break down why firms — not policies, not savings rates, not grand macroeconomic plans — are the true unit of economic growth. GDP is just the sum of value added by every firm in the country. Ajay lays out 4 pillars that determine whether a society produces great firms or squanders its people's energy, the 3 rooms of R&D in India, why shell companies aren't all hera pheri and why India's tax-to-GDP ratio is less alarming than we think.0:00- The world will keep throwing stuff at you teaser0:55- Welcome back: Ajay Shah's second appearancePart 1 — Why firms are the entire economy2:08- GDP is just the sum of all firm value added3:23- Value added explained: from ball bearings to engines4:39- Every productive unit — even one farmer — is a firm5:59- Think one firm at a time: micro foundations of macro6:28- Incentives: what conditions make firms emerge?Part 2 — Entrepreneurship & what firms are made of7:14- What does an entrepreneur actually need?7:59- The magic of entrepreneurship: energy, not capital8:45- Story: Dhirubhai Ambani, petrol pump to Reliance9:41- Narayan Murthy, Infosys, and the art of doubling11:28- Even standing still is incredibly hard11:57- The 6% profit reality: the math of running a firm13:13- Capitalism: dynamic and constantly contested14:05- Every transaction is a vote14:49- Firms are rated every single day — elections aren'tPart 3 — Productivity, GDP and how to grow both15:59- Productivity dispersion: not all firms are equal17:22- India's casual worker earns ₹1.2 lakh a year17:37- Two ways to grow GDP: reallocation and improvement20:40- New firms vs better firms: both are goodPart 4 — The history and boundaries of the firm21:06- Why did firms even emerge? A brief history21:42- Ships to India, the industrial revolution, and Coase25:16- Shell companies, legal engineering, and piece-rate production27:33- Are shell companies just hera-pheri?28:35- State legibility vs firm productivity: they're incompatiblePart 5 — The state, rules, and what goes wrong29:53- When states change rules mid-game30:43- Growth is discovery, not design32:17- India's tax-GDP ratio: time to be less hysterical33:47- The cost of trying to eliminate all type-2 error34:43- The SEBI insider trading absurdity36:32- Is insider trading actually a serious crime?36:54- Insider trading brings prices closer to the truth37:45- Prediction markets and the value of private informationPart 6 — The 4 pillars that build great firms38:29- What actually creates conditions for great firms?39:59- Leadership must commit to the madness of building lead-in42:36- Pillar 1: Safety from expropriation P147:04- Pillar 2: Globalization — the most powerful engine P247:39- Why competing abroad is the best meritocracy49:05- Why don't Indian firms invest in R&D?49:42- The 3 rooms of R&D in India52:49- India's two-wheeler global success — and its limits55:36- Rooms 1 and 2 don't need large R&D spend56:25- Pillar 3: Creative destruction and the IBC P31:00:18- Firm death is normal, healthy, and necessary1:01:09- Pillar 4: Finance as the brain of the economy P41:03:43- Summary: the 4 pillars — and what India must build1:04:46- ClosingAjay Shah is a researcher, former government advisor, and author of 'In Service of the Republic.' This is his second appearance on Growth is Good — back by popular demand.References & Recommended Reading: The short history of global living conditions and why it matters that we know it (Max Roser) https://ourworldindata.org/a-history-... Economic growth is enough and only economic growth is enough (Lant Pritchett)https://lantpritchett.org/wp-content/...The Case for Economic Growth as the Path to Better Human Wellbeing (Lant Pritchett) https://lantpritchett.org/wp-content/...

    1hr 5min

  2. 27 FEB

    How a Left Leaning Young Man Became One of India's Leading Reformers | Ep 24 | Dr Rakesh Mohan

    In this episode of Growth is Good, Rahul Ahluwalia speaks with Dr. Rakesh Mohan — former Deputy Governor of the RBI, former Executive Director at the IMF, and one of the key policy minds around India’s 1991 reforms. This is a grounded, insider account of how reforms actually happen — and why they are harder than we think.Watch till the end for Dr. Mohan’s reflections on how policy thinking in India evolved — and what the next generation must learn. Also available on YouTube: Subscribe to Our Newsletter:

    1hr 40min

  3. 30 JAN

    Why Enforcing a Contract Is So Hard in India Ft. Anand Kumar| Ep 23 | Growth is Good

    In this episode of Growth is Good, Rahul Ahluwalia is joined by Anand Prasad, co-founder of Trilegal, for a wide-ranging conversation on India’s legal system, economic growth, and the incentives that quietly shape how business actually works.Anand traces his journey from becoming a lawyer just after liberalisation to building one of India’s most influential corporate law firms. From there, the conversation moves into deeper questions:• Why breach of contract has become a “resource” rather than a deterrent• How delays, litigation, and weak enforcement slow down deal-making• Why technology alone can’t fix government systems without changing incentives• The role of culture — from “milord” courtrooms to the chalta-hai mindset• How regulation, corruption, and premature imitation shape everyday business decisionsUsing examples ranging from power sector reform to the pakoda-thela economy, this episode explores why India’s economy continues to function despite systemic friction — and what real reform would actually require.A candid, experience-driven conversation on law, incentives, culture, and growth.

    1hr 17min

  4. 31/12/2025

    Why India Still Needs to Defend Freedom | Amit Varma & Mohit Satyanand | Ep 22 | Growth is Good

    What did it really mean to start a business under the Licence Raj? Why is socialism back as a “feel-good” word? And why do Amit Varma and Mohit Satyanand worry that we’re drifting away from the spirit of 1991, even as India’s young entrepreneurs give them hope?In this episode of Growth is Good, Rahul Ahluwalia sits down with writer–podcaster Amit Varma and investor–entrepreneur Mohit Satyanand to talk about India’s reforms, the return of soft socialism, and why defending economic freedom is never “finished business”. From Crax and DGT forms to luxury beliefs, Nordic myths and small-town founders raising crores, this is a wide-ranging conversation on growth, ideas and the politics that shape both.Tune in on YouTube: https://youtu.be/1duNg498QR8Subscribe to our newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/fedev.org/amitabh-kant-on-the-spirit-of-enterprise-indias-untapped-tourism-potential-shifting-migration-patterns-more-fed-june-newsletter-12817567

    56 min

  5. 28/11/2025

    India’s Growth Leap: Insights from EAC-PM Member Shamika Ravi | Ep 21 | Growth is Good

    What really pulled 302 million Indians out of poverty?In this episode of Growth is Good, Rahul Ahluwalia sits down with Dr Shamika Ravi, Member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC-PM), to unpack what the latest data actually says about poverty, growth, inequality and jobs in India.They talk about her journey from development economist to growth thinker, why a famous ultra-poor experiment changed her mind, and why reforms in labour laws and regulation matter so much.Video version available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/riqw6NL0fMg📩 For more research, data stories and episodes, subscribe to the FED newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/fedev.org/creating-100000-jobs-andhras-export-roadmap-and-indias-next-growth-wave-fed-october-newsletter

    43 min

  6. 31/10/2025

    Creating 100,000 Jobs & Becoming One of the Largest Apparel Exporters | Ep 20 | Growth is Good

    Shahi Exports, India’s largest apparel exporter, started in 1974 with one sewing machine. Today, it employs over 100,000 workers across 50+ factories, with women making up nearly 70% of its workforce. In this episode of Growth is Good, we explore Shahi’s remarkable rise, its impact on women’s empowerment, and what it teaches us about India’s manufacturing potential. From family-led beginnings to becoming a global supplier for the world’s top brands, this is the story of how one company stitched together an industry success. 📘 Learn more about Shahi’s journey in our detailed case study report: https://www.fedev.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Web-Page-View_31st-March_SHAHI-EXPORTS.pdf

    56 min

  7. 03/10/2025

    How India’s IT Boom Took Off and Why Tax Reform Still Lags | Ep 19 | Growth is Good

    Entrepreneur and thinker Jerry Rao joins Growth is Good to reflect on India’s reform story — from the unlikely rise of the software and BPO industries to why simplifying taxes and fixing administration are key to sustaining growth.Chapters:0:00 – 1:51 | Promo1:52 – 7:55 | Teachers’ unions, election roles, & why admin reform must precede attitude change7:56 – 9:38 | “We lost 20 years”: License Raj, FERA, & anti-business training of the bureaucracy9:39 – 15:47 | Targets, tax harassment, appeals-as-punishment, and how it strangles small firms15:48 – 16:31 | From policy to practice: why execution trumps intent16:32 – 35:40 | (General reform context) Culture, bureaucracy, and risk aversion in India’s growth story35:41 – 57:14 | (Broader policy thread) PILs, POSCO, copper, and how process blocks projects57:14 – 57:33 | Setting up the software/BPO question57:33 – 1:02:15 | How India’s IT boom “happened by accident”: SEEPZ rules, exporting “over the wire,” the floppy-disk hack, self-certification, and early BPO1:02:15 – 1:05:07 | The 16%–16% idea: one GST rate, one income-tax rate; why complexity breeds gaming1:05:07 – 1:06:01 | Flat, simple, predictable beats exemptions and discretion1:06:02 – 1:08:38 | Start with administration: defense reforms by memo; stop revenue “targets” and serial appeals1:08:38 – 1:10:21 | Our administrative DNA: colonial incentives, exchange rate for pensions, and lingering habits1:10:22 – 1:13:38 | Teacher unions again, absenteeism, why vouchers/private schools bypass the gridlock1:13:38 – 1:15:32 | Unintended consequences: tax “terrorism” doesn’t raise revenue; it kills activity1:15:32 – 1:16:24 | Politics of ideas: why persistent articulation (Fabians-style) still matters1:16:24 – 1:20:48 | Culture, commerce, and closing reflections on India’s reform pathTune in on Spotify:Watch more episodes of Growth is Good:    • How India’s IT Boom Took Off and Why Tax R...  Subscribe to our newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/fedev.org/amitabh-...

    1hr 21min

  8. 29/08/2025

    What India Learned (and Missed) from 30 Years of Reform | Ep 18 | Growth is Good

    In this episode of Growth is Good, Rahul speaks with Montek Singh Ahluwalia, former Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission and a central figure in India’s reform journey. They discuss how reforms were debated and designed inside government, why some changes stuck while others stalled, and what it takes to build political coalitions around growth. Montek reflects on lessons from the 1991 reforms, the “MD Note” that leaked into public debate, the role of leaders like Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh, and why continuity across governments mattered. The conversation also looks ahead: how India can reach 8% growth, the challenges of climate change and technology disruption, and why states must lead the next wave of reforms. A rare insider’s view on three decades of reform — and what India must do to deliver on the promise of Viksit Bharat. Also available on YouTube: Transcript available on our website: Subscribe to our Newsletter for more: https://us18.campaign-archive.com/?u=3a4e56aeafa412e3509f7836b&id=bad6ee09d2

    1hr 24min
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About

At Foundation for Economic Development (FED), we believe the evidence clearly shows that economic, GDP-measured growth is critical to improving everyone's standard of living; that it is the single-biggest determinant of human development outcomes such as improved health, education, and employment. Growth is good! It enables everything we cherish - employment, equity and even gender equality! This podcast features insightful conversations with leaders from industry and academia, who share their different perspectives on India's economic growth trajectory, and what we must do to grow further.

Information

  • Creator
    Foundation for Economic Development
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    25
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Foundation for Economic Development
  • Show Website
    Growth Is Good

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