Archive · 30 Nov 2025
Book Analyzes India's Development Struggles
A new book by Devesh Kapur and Arvind Subramanian talks about India's struggles with development.
They look at how India has tried to grow and improve over the past 75 years.
The book points out that India is still poor compared to other countries that started in similar situations.
The authors discuss five different phases of India's economic policies, from planning to neoliberalism and now protectionism.
They highlight problems like poor education, lack of good jobs, and growing inequality.
The book also criticizes the political and social issues that make it hard for India to solve these problems.
The authors argue that India's politics have become more illiberal and authoritarian, which affects development.
They also say that India's success in the services sector and high government wages have made manufacturing less attractive and profitable, a phenomenon they call a 'subtle Dutch disease effect'.
The book doesn't provide easy solutions but raises important questions about why India's problems are so hard to fix.
India's development struggles are analyzed in the book 'A Sixth of Humanity' by Devesh Kapur and Arvind Subramanian.
The book covers five ideological phases of India's economic policies from 1950 to present.
Persistent issues include poor education, lack of good jobs, and growing economic disparities.
The authors criticize India's political system for becoming more illiberal and authoritarian.
The book argues that democracy has both positive and negative effects on India's development.
- Who
- Authors Devesh Kapur and Arvind Subramanian
- What
- A book analyzing India's development challenges over 75 years
- When
- Published recently, covering 1950 to present
- Where
- India
- Why
- To understand persistent development failures despite ideological shifts
Critics of India's Development
Supporters of India's Growth
Role of Government and Services Sector
Critics of India's Development
High government wages and the rise of the services sector have negatively impacted manufacturing growth, making factory jobs less attractive and profitable.
Supporters of India's Growth
The growth of the services sector has contributed significantly to India's economic growth and employment.
Structural Transformation
Critics of India's Development
India has failed to achieve significant structural transformation, particularly in manufacturing, despite periods of rapid economic growth.
Supporters of India's Growth
India has made progress in various sectors, and the services sector has been a major driver of economic growth.
- Authors
- Devesh Kapur and Arvind Subramanian
- Book Title
- A Sixth of Humanity: Independent India's Development Odyssey
- Publisher
- HarperCollins India
- Pages
- 760
- Price
- ₹ 1,299
- Key Themes
- Development failures, ideological phases, political economy, economic disparities
- Time Period Covered
- 1950 to present
- Notable Criticisms
- Lack of definitive explanations for persistent problems
- Dutch Disease Effect
- High government wages and the rise of the services sector have negatively impacted manufacturing growth.
