Remember 2014 when we were promised Unicorns & Rainbows by a nonbiological mahamanv ?
We have a stadium named after him.
We spent a lockdown lighting diyas on command
And his birthday is now pushed as a massive national PR festival.
12 years on, we are still relying on an IT industry kickstarted in the 1980s and unleashed by the 1991 economic reforms.
We failed the core promise of Make In India (manufacturing is stubbornly stuck at 15% of GDP).
We failed Vocal for Local.
We largely missed the China + 1 bus, losing mass manufacturing jobs to countries like Vietnam.
Despite some electronics assembly wins, we don't have the mass job creation promised in 2014, leaving us mostly with religious shenanigans.
Now we are sat here worried what happens if IT fails :)
If the IT sector collapses, the impact won’t stop at IT.
Real estate, tourism, restaurants, cafés, auto and apparel will feel the heat too.
When people are worried about their jobs, a ₹500 coffee or a ₹7,500 pair of shoes stops being a casual purchase.