Startup India

What this episode covers

This is the show notes from part 2 of my interview with Vijay and Sudhi, co-founders of AppZui.com. I interview entrepreneurs, investors and engineers from around the world so that we can all learn from them, expand our minds and benefit from their experience. You can listen to part 1 of this interview here. In this episode we discuss the current environment for startups in India and some of the challenges a typical Indian entrepreneur would face while starting a business. Topics covered in our discussion include Listen to the interview here The changing mindset in india India adopted a socialist model of economy after independence. Then-prime minister Nehru aligned the country with the ideology of the communist Soviet Union. The private sector lacked both the capital and clout to participate in large-scale projects like building power plants and roads, refining petroleum, manufacturing, electronics, etc. The government was responsible for building infrastructure, providing employment and administration. An entire generation grew up under socialism, where the main source of employment for young, educated men and women in the organized sector was government or government-run enterprises, also known as the public sector. This era was also infamously known as the “Licence Raj”; the government kept a tight grip on private Indian companies through a barrage of licenses, permits and inspections. Corruption was rampant, because politicians and government agencies had firm control over citizens and the economy. A natural outcome was the rise of an extensive bureaucracy, red tape, unnecessary regulations and trade barriers. The Indian economy was in a deep hole by the late 1980s. It suffered a balance of payment crisis (payments for export and import of goods, services and capital). The government was unable to pay off essential imports, ran a high deficit, and borrowed from external sources to finance those deficits, and inflation was on the rise. With just three weeks left to completely depleting the last loan from the IMF, P V Narasimha Rao took over as India's prime minister in 1991 and announced liberalization. The goal of his visionary policy was to remove unnecessary bureaucratic controls, take careful measures to integrate India with the world economy, remove restrictions on foreign investments, and crack down on public sector enterprises that yielded very low returns. The result was that the Indian economy almost doubled in the five years following the announcement of economic reforms. The GDP in India was worth 2.066 trillion US dollars in 2014.  source : Trading economics    With liberalization of the economy, private sector participation increased in terms of economic output and as a source of employment. The entry of many multinationals into the country introduced the local population to advances in technology and business practices. Gradually the popular opinion about capitalism and the business community started to change. In my interview with the founders of AppZui, a startup in Bangalore, I discuss the current mind-set in India towards business and entrepreneurs Starting up in India  In this segment we discuss the opportunities in Indian market and some of the challenges that a typical startup in India would face. We also discuss the areas of the economy where many startups are focusing their efforts. E-Commerce: Flipkart.com ,

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