S. Umamaheshwar | Aspirational India should be ‘Apurva Bharat’ for global dominance

On January 20, a Chinese technology start-up released the country’s first generative AI-powered chatbot DeepSeek, which took the world by storm. Built at a fraction of the cost and computing power of its American counterparts like ChatGPT, DeepSeek’s launch triggered a massive selloff in US technology stocks, wiping out nearly $1 trillion in market valuation within merely eight days. The impact of DeepSeek is not an isolated event but rather a reflection of the ongoing global economic turf war.

The Silicon Valley boom of the 1980s and 1990s, followed by the dot-com surge of the 1990s and 2000s, along with rising domestic labour costs and more affordable alternatives from Japan, Korea, and Germany, compelled the US to outsource manufacturing jobs to China and software coding jobs to India. American policymakers were confident that their country’s lead in innovation, which transformed the US from an agrarian economy in the 19th century into the world’s foremost superpower, would remain unchallenged.

However, things did not unfold as America had anticipated. Countries like China and India made major advances in technology and innovation, traditionally America’s stronghold for over a century. This shift has set off alarm bells among US policymakers and the public. Instead of fostering domestic innovation, the US has turned its back on the globalised economic model which it once championed, forcing nations worldwide to rethink their policies, which are closely linked to economic growth and competitiveness.

The United States is India’s largest trade partner, with total trade valued at $130 billion, favouring India with a surplus. An increasingly inward-focused US presents India with a difficult dilemma: Should it raise trade barriers to support domestic industries, or should it further open its economy to enhance the global competitiveness of Indian companies?

From a pure wage arbitrage perspective, India maintains a distinct advantage over the US. The minimum wage in America stands at $7.25 per hour, translating to $58 for an eight-hour workday, whereas in India, the market-determined minimum wage is around $8 per day. This cost advantage could help India in labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and IT services.

While the US may hold an edge in high-end technology, Indian entrepreneurs, with their deep pockets and growing expertise, are increasingly capable of competing on a global scale. There are plenty of examples to prove that Indian business leaders and companies had outsmarted foreign competitors.

Lakshmi Mittal, an Indian entrepreneur, went on to preside over ArcelorMittal, which was the world’s largest steelmaker until 2022. Around 10 per cent of the global Fortune 500 companies are headed by an Indian or a person of Indian origin — who could have got such opportunities unless they were capable of leading global organisations?

Throughout recorded history, until it was colonised by the British in the 18th century, India was one of the major trading economies, contributing between 15 per cent and 25 per cent of the global trade. Until the British disrupted India’s overseas trading guilds, its traders had a presence in several places along major trading routes. Nearly 2,000 years ago, Roman emperor Pliny the Elder called India “the sink of the world’s gold,” alluding to the extremely favourable trade surplus that India enjoyed with its trading partners.

However, today’s Indian entrepreneurs, some of whom have deep pockets, have remained insular, focusing primarily on increasing their wealth through selling goods and services within India. This must change; they must broaden their horizons to benefit both themselves and the country that has been supporting them.

Beyond providing the necessary strategic support for businesses to go global, Prime Minister Narendra Modi — who recognises the power of branding — should reposition India as an aspirational and confident nation under the brand of Apurva Bharat. Indians must become aspirational and chase excellence. According to psychologists, a balanced sense of national pride has a positive impact on people’s behaviour and could serve as a force multiplier in economic partnerships. Conversely, a cautious and circumspect national image could prevent its people from aiming high.

For instance, Isro’s successful Mars Orbiter Mission fuelled the imagination of many young minds in the country for science. Similarly, when Reliance Industries founder Dhirubhai Ambani showed that a commoner could become a billionaire within a lifetime, it inspired people to dream big.

Now is the time for India to aim high. Rather than merely aiming to reduce import dependency and boost domestic production, a confident India — Apurva Bharat — should leverage its unique strengths for global dominance. This vision involves opening markets through strategic trade agreements, attracting global giants, and deeply integrating India into global supply chains.

Dr Manmohan Singh, while presenting his maiden path-breaking Union Budget in 1991 as the finance minister, quoted Victor Hugo: “No power on earth can stop an idea whose time has come.” Now the time has come for India to emerge as Apurva Bharat, a confident and extraordinary India that no power on earth can stop.