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-...