Navigating the Maze of India's Missing Addresses

What happens when something as basic as a street address becomes a major obstacle to economic growth? In India, millions of people live in places that are easier to describe through landmarks and local knowledge than through standardized addresses, creating enormous challenges for everything from deliveries and navigation to property ownership and financial transactions. In this episode, we explore how an unreliable addressing system generates hidden costs across the economy, forcing workers to spend more time and fuel simply trying to find the right destination. We also examine how unclear land records can complicate mortgages, create opportunities for fraud, and make property ownership more difficult to verify. With estimates suggesting that these inefficiencies could cost a significant share of India's annual economic output, the government is exploring digital identification systems to bring greater precision to the country's addressing infrastructure. The story reveals why something as mundane as knowing exactly where a person lives can have surprisingly profound consequences for a nation's productivity, financial security, and future development.https://www.economist.com/asia/2025/06/05/the-real-reason-indians-are-lost