Erupting masses and
evident accountability
By Ash Narain Roy,
Director, Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi
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Introduction
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“Expect nothing from the 21st century. It
is the 21st century which expects
everything from you” – Garcia Marquez
Age of information revolution
Life would be much easier if Apple and
Blackberry were just fruits
Post-modern world
“The difference between what we do and
what we are capable of doing would
suffice to solve most of the world’s
problems” – Gandhi
Century of citizens’ engagement
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New Geography of Below
Governance has moved beyond
governments
 New actors on the scene
 New pyramid of power
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Empowered Customers
More informed, more powerful and
demanding
 How to earn trust with customers
 Challenge from Social Media
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Key Questions
What is India’s true potential?
 Is it really living up to its potential?
 And, if not, what can we do about it?
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India Story
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Indian elephant has harrumphed
Indian politics like a sad Italian
opera
“India grows while the government
sleeps”
India’s is a bottom-up story
India’s strength is its new middle
class
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What we must learn
Washing machine changed society
more than the internet—Ha-Joon
Chang
 We will get nowhere if we stick to
what we are already good at
 Countries need to develop their
capabilities
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Innovation
Innovation thrives where people
breathe easily
 Messy and politically divided land is
good for innovation
 India’s golden economic period
coincides with political coalition
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India’s own Ford Model T Moment
India had its own leap of faith
 Maruti brought many firsts to the
Indian consumers
 It brought in a work culture of superefficient manufacturing
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Crisis in automobile sector
Volatility of the automobile industry
 The problem can itself be a solution
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Closing Remarks
Opportunity would be knocking at the
door
 Cars will not disappear
 Demand may saturate in metros but it
will grow in small towns
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Thank You
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