Make India Competitive Again

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The audio edition of The Ken’s Make India Competitive Again newsletter, spearheaded by Seetharaman G. Every Wednesday, our editors and reporters read the latest edition and chronicle what India is doing, will do, and should do—to not just survive but thrive in the chaos unleashed by Donald Trump.

4 DAYS AGO • THE KEN PREMIUM ONLY

China’s new pharma API war, and lessons from its last strike

India’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme is meant to boost domestic manufacturing and exports. It rewards a range of companies, including those that produce 41 critical molecules in active pharmaceutical ingredients, or APIs. Meanwhile, Chinese manufacturers have slashed their prices of several important APIs by 40–50%. In some cases, these prices are below the cost of production in India. Even though the adjustment won’t be permanent, those lowered prices are a major blow to Indian companies that were making headway for the past five years in API production, and which formed India’s muscle in this space. This isn’t the first time for Chinese producers to undercut their Indian competitors. The same situation happened in the 2000s. Here’s the kicker: aside from the Indian government’s PLI scheme, few conditions have improved for API manufacturers. The Ken reporter Sudeshna Ray explores the issue in this edition of Make India Competitive Again, as read by Seetharaman G. * Read this edition as a newsletter: https://the-ken.com/newsletter/make-india-competitive-again/chinas-new-pharma-api-war-and-lessons-from-its-last-strike/ ( https://the-ken.com/newsletter/make-india-competitive-again/chinas-new-pharma-api-war-and-lessons-from-its-last-strike/ )

8 min
21 SEPT • THE KEN PREMIUM ONLY

When will the RBI allow payments banks to grow up?

AU Small Finance Bank received in-principle approval in August from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to become a universal bank. It was the first institution of its kind to reach this milestone. This also marked the first time in a decade for the RBI to issue a full-fledged banking licence. This has a couple major consequences. For AU, the transition means it will be able to offer a much broader range of services to its customers—and significantly expand its business. For the RBI, it was a development that demonstrated how small finance banks, which were introduced in 2014, are now mature enough to do much more. Meanwhile, another innovation that the RBI introduced that same year, payments banks, aren’t doing nearly as well. Some have shut down, and those that are still around often have negative bottom lines. Both small finance banks and payments banks were meant to give underserved and underbanked Indians options to be part of the formal banking system. But the outcomes more than a decade after their emergence are vastly different. The Ken contributor Sarthak Gupta explores the issue in this edition of Make India Competitive Again, as read by Snigdha Sharma. * Read this edition as a newsletter: https://the-ken.com/newsletter/make-india-competitive-again/when-will-the-rbi-allow-payments-banks-to-grow-up/ ( https://the-ken.com/newsletter/make-india-competitive-again/when-will-the-rbi-allow-payments-banks-to-grow-up/ ) Subscribe to the Make India Competitive Again newsletter: https://the-ken.com/newsletters/make-india-competitive-again/ ( https://the-ken.com/newsletters/make-india-competitive-again/ )

9 min
15 SEPT • THE KEN PREMIUM ONLY

India has a ‘full-stack’ semicon dream, but only half the links it needs to achieve it

Let’s think back to what happened a little more than a week ago: On 30 August, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart, Shigeru Ishiba, boarded Japan’s fastest bullet train, the Hayabusa, and cruised toward Miyagi prefecture at 320 km/h. They were heading to a facility of semiconductor equipment giant Tokyo Electron Limited, or TEL, in Sendai, to spotlight India and Japan’s collaboration in the semiconductor sector. Japan is a major player in chipmaking, and it’s a model for the way disruption-free operations are crucial for any nation that is a meaningful part of the semiconductor space. This is a particularly important takeaway for India, especially given how PM Modi said last week that he expects to eventually see a “full stack” semiconductor ecosystem in the country. There are plenty of risks to mitigate—the dependence on Taiwan, erratic diplomatic moves by US President Donald Trump, and China’s weaponisation of its dominance in supply chains, to name a few. All of this means India needs rock-solid supply chain links for critical equipment and materials if it wants to become a reliable chip producer. The Ken contributor Ankit Tiwari dives into the details in this week’s edition of Make India Competitive Again, as read by Brady Ng. Read this edition as a newsletter: https://the-ken.com/newsletter/make-india-competitive-again/india-has-a-full-stack-semicon-dream-but-only-half-the-links-it-needs-to-crack-it/ ( https://the-ken.com/newsletter/make-india-competitive-again/india-has-a-full-stack-semicon-dream-but-only-half-the-links-it-needs-to-crack-it/ )

13 min
14 SEPT • THE KEN PREMIUM ONLY

Cracking open the Reliance, Adani opportunity for India’s small businesses

India’s MSMEs operate in informal frameworks that have barely evolved over the past two decades. The result is that small businesses have largely the same struggles as they did before, whether it’s the absence of adequate credit, difficulties in entering new markets, or payment delays. Since MSMEs are the second-largest employer in India, solving these problems represents a significant opportunity. After all, opportunity has already come knocking. Take for example the shift of manufacturing out of China. India should be a natural destination, but the smaller manufacturers in the country simply were not prepared or equipped with the competencies that major clients demand from their vendors. There are startups in India taking steps to help small manufacturing businesses develop “full-stack factory solutions”. The Ken reporter Pranathi DVLS explores this space in this edition of Make India Competitive Again, as read by Rahel Philipose. Subscribe to the Make India Competitive Again newsletter: https://the-ken.com/newsletters/make-india-competitive-again/ Download our app and subscribe to The Ken to access our latest releases: iOS: https://apps.apple.com/in/app/the-ken/id1282944688 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ken.core&hl=en&gl=US&pli=1 Or subscribe to The Ken Premium on Apple Podcasts to access our latest releases: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/make-india-competitive-again-premium/id1810672381

10 min
31 AUG

From BS6 to E20—India learnt the wrong lessons. Here’s how to course correct

It’s been a month since India’s nationwide shift to E20 petrol—20% ethanol-blended petrol. Vehicle owners have come forward to complain about falling mileage, damage to their vehicles, voided warranties, and the absence of insurance coverage. The change has sparked outrage, and nothing is being done to placate the country’s many millions of angry drivers. India’s move to E20 fuel took place much faster than originally planned. This pace may have been inspired by a previous success, when the government had to address worsening air pollution in the 2010s. At the time, regulators were able to skip a step to implement more stringent vehicle emissions standards. Even though there was some opposition from automakers, the change was largely unchallenged, and the public was onboard. The context is different this time around, and the confidence exuded by the government is misplaced. The Ken’s Suprita Anupam explains in this edition of Make India Competitive Again, as read by Brady Ng. Read this edition as a newsletter: https://the-ken.com/newsletter/make-india-competitive-again/from-bs6-to-e20-india-learnt-the-wrong-lessons-heres-how-to-course-correct/

12 min
24 AUG

IPO-bound Nephroplus built resilience in India. It’s now using it to win overseas

Dialysis is a tough business, and not because of any serious lack of demand. Over 280,000 patients were undergoing regular dialysis in 2024, a number that’s projected to go up to 520,000 by 2029. Add in less frequent or one-time treatments, and the number of patients who need the procedure every year breaches one million. It is the economics that is the tricky bit. High procurement costs, tricky consumable-stock management, and very low margins—in fact, nowhere on the planet can one run a small dialysis business sustainably. And India, with the lowest dialysis price point in the world, is the toughest market to crack. Which perhaps explains why IPO-bound kidneycare chain Nephroplus’ founder Vikram Vuppala built the kidneycare chain the way he did. It is already India’s—and Asia’s—largest dialysis service provider. And it is expanding, both inside and outside the country’s borders, for which it wants to put the Rs 353 crore it plans to raise from its IPO to good use. In this edition of Make India Competitive Again, The Ken’s Sudeshna Ray explains how testing itself in a market like India, and building expertise in a “full-stack” model, has been key to its success overseas. Read this edition as a newsletter: https://the-ken.com/newsletter/make-india-competitive-again/ipo-bound-nephroplus-built-resilience-in-india-its-now-using-it-to-win-overseas/

10 min
17 AUG

Tejas Networks’ diving share price is a Mayday signal. Is DoT’s antenna working?

India’s stock market seldom tends to influence the workings of its federal bureaucracy. But for the country’s telecom mandarins, who have just floated a new draft national policy for the sector, the investor response to one listed company could be the canary in the coal mine. At Rs 9,800 crore, the market value of Tejas Networks, a Tata-owned maker of telecom equipment, is now half the peak it reached 10 months ago. What’s odd is that Tejas Networks is now worth only a little more than its revenue. At the heart of investor frustration, and perhaps even fear, is the big pile of payments the company is yet to receive from its customers, including the government (the owner of telco BSNL). It’s striking, then, that the draft telecom policy includes a plan to handhold 500 startups and MSMEs working on emerging telecom technologies. But what’s truly conspicuous in the policy is what’s not in it. The Ken’s Seema Singh explains in this edition of Make India Competitive Again, as narrated by Seetharaman G. Read this edition as a newsletter: https://the-ken.com/newsletter/make-india-competitive-again/tejas-networks-diving-share-price-is-a-mayday-signal-is-dots-antenna-working/

7 min
10 AUG

Free code can build India’s AI fortune

Software needs to be free to access, modify, and redistribute to be called open source. Anything less can’t carry the label. This matters right now because generative-AI company Sarvam will open-source its models built for the IndiaAI Mission, the government’s initiative to foster artificial intelligence development within the country. That means it will release its weights, or parameters that make AI models “smart”. By referencing Chinese releases like Deepseek and Alibaba Group’s Qwen, open-source software isn’t just a nice thing to have, there are elements of soft power as well. AI models that are available for anyone to tinker with can win developer mindshare and become more prominent in tech stacks around the world. This makes it harder for closed systems to defend their territory. But the people behind IndiaAI have little to say about software licensing even though there’s a need to define those norms, especially given the vast capital that’s being poured into the national programme. The Ken’s Sumit Chakraborty explains in this edition of Make India Competitive Again, as narrated by Brady Ng. Read this edition as a newsletter: https://the-ken.com/newsletter/make-india-competitive-again/free-code-can-build-indias-ai-fortune/

19 min

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Introducing Make India Competitive Again

The audio edition of The Ken’s Make India Competitive Again newsletter, spearheaded by Seetharaman G. Every Wednesday, our editors and reporters read the latest edition and chronicle what India is doing, will do, and should do—to not just survive but thrive in the chaos unleashed by Donald Trump.

15 Apr

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1 min

First Principles is a weekly interview podcast comprising authentic, candid, and insightful conversations between some of India’s most accomplished founders and business leaders, and Rohin Dharmakumar, The Ken’s CEO & co-founder. From personal philosophies, mental models and decision making frameworks, to reading habits, parenting styles or personal interests, each episode will delve into what makes each of these leaders unique.

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The Two by Two podcast is a premium business podcast from The Ken that investigates, discusses and breaks down the most important business stories around you. Hosted from The Ken's newsroom by business journalists Rohin Dharmakumar and Praveen Gopal Krishnan, Two by Two will feature guests and experts from across the industry and academia to talk about issues no one else is talking about.

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BUSINESS
You’ll spend 90,000 hours at work in your lifetime. How do you make that time count? 90,000 Hours is a weekly podcast from the newsroom of The Ken that helps you navigate today’s changing world of work, where the traditional 40-year career is gone, entry-level jobs are being replaced by artificial intelligence, and staying relevant means constantly reinventing yourself. Hosted by Rahel Philipose, the show features conversations with the people creating, breaking, and rewriting the way we work.

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CAREERS
Join Brady Ng, Praveen Gopal Krishnan, and Rohin Dharmakumar of The Ken as they discuss the big ideas in artificial intelligence. You’ll get the macro view, explore their experiments in practical applications, go deeper than the news coverage you’ve seen, and hear about the implications of the latest developments. Nothing is off the table.

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The audio edition of The Ken’s Make India Competitive Again newsletter, spearheaded by Seetharaman G. Every Wednesday, our editors and reporters read the latest edition and chronicle what India is doing, will do, and should do—to not just survive but thrive in the chaos unleashed by Donald Trump.