408. India's Development Odyssey

What happens when one-sixth of humanity undertakes the world's most complex development experiment? In A Sixth of Humanity, renowned political scientist Devesh Kapur and former Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian unpack India's audacious journey of nation-building and economic transformation. Blending democracy, socialism, and liberalization in an unprecedented way, India has charted a "precocious" path to development—one that defies conventional models and continues to reshape global geopolitics and economics. Through this conversation, the authors reflect on India's unique development trajectory, the paradoxes that define it, and what it reveals about the future of large, diverse democracies. In this episode of BIC Talks, Devesh Kapur, Arvind Subramanian are in a conversation with Ramachandra Guha. This is an excerpt from a conversation that took place in the BIC premises in Oct 2025. Subscribe to the BIC Talks Podcast on your favourite podcast app! BIC Talks is available everywhere, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Overcast, Audible, and Amazon Music.