The idea of India

Seeing India through the prism of ideas, Nandan Nilekani, Infosys chairman and soon-to-be-published author, reveals his hand to Subir Roy

"I am tracing India through the evolution of ideas as it is the changes in ideas that have brought us to where we are," says Nandan Nilekani, describing the book which he has almost finished and which is likely to be a key publishing event this year.

The Infosys chairman has had a public presence that has gone well beyond matters affecting the corporate world. He has shaped the country's urban renewal policy from behind the scenes; his wife Rohini has actively engaged in areas like primary education and water. Now the book, through the comprehensive statement it makes on India, is likely to take his public engagement further.

"My basic premise is that, ultimately, things happen in India only when an idea takes root. I have tried to look at everything "" where India is and where it should be "" through this framework of ideas. Ideas matter and when we change our notion of something, then it has a huge impact. If I can figure out in each area what is that idea which is different, then it will be the key value added. It is getting the idea's packaging right which, I think, is the most important," he elaborates.

Nilekani has, in the book, categorised ideas into four classes. The first section deals with ideas which have brought us to where we are "" 8 per cent growth, confidence, buoyancy, vitality. It traces how we have gone from seeing population as a burden to population as a source of human capital; how English went from being an alien imposition to the language of aspiration; how technology changed in our eyes from a foe (job-destroying computers) to a friend (everyone using a mobile phone); how, from reviling the entrepreneur, we see him as a hero today; and how democracy has changed from an elite notion to a bottom-up idea.

The second section is on "ideas in execution", those which we have all accepted but are yet to execute, where there is no argument or debate, like infrastructure and primary education. The third section is on "ideas in contest", those that we argue about.

This is where the ideological debates are "" about the role of markets versus that of the state, deregulation of higher education, labour flexibility. The fourth section is "ideas we need to anticipate" from now so that we don't hit a roadblock later on "" like environment and energy.

Is there a model for growth which has the environment as a part of it? Today, a country like India, looking to grow in the next 50 years, cannot adopt a hydrocarbon-based solution.

Nilekani sees this approach as "a different prism of viewing which brings me a lot of clarity because it is not chronological. Each chapter takes an idea from the beginning to the end, how it evolved. I felt somebody had to move the idea debate to today and tomorrow. By doing this, I will be able to, sort of, set a way of looking at things, a point of departure for people to use."

The manuscript should be submitted to the publishers by end March. It will have taken about a year to write. He writes at his Bangalore home, in the evenings or during weekends or "when I go to Conoor" where those who have seen it say he has a beautiful house on a kind of a millionaires' row.

First, he got an agent, Andrew Wiley, "regarded as one of the world's top agents". Then, he developed a structure. "The structuring is very important, getting this idea framework was a big thing for me, and gave me the confidence that I was on to something different. So I wrote out the structure and the point I am trying to make in each chapter."

That's when his "very good research assistant who works full time" takes over. Plus he has done about 100 interviews. "It was a breakthrough decision to do the interviews. I made a list of 100 people across the world and I am pretty much done with that. I have spoken to a diverse array of people "" Nobel laureates, economists, political scientists, activists, bureaucrats, politicians."

The researcher collects material, the interviews get done, the quotes to be used get selected, thereafter the researcher puts all together and gives it back to him. He goes through it and writes down additional points he wants put in. The researcher again edits it or "I do online editing and send it back." That's how the book's been written.

Where does he go after he has journeyed from CEO to chairman, then written a definitive book on where India ought to go? "I have always believed that there has to be some public purpose to what we do. To me this book is nothing but an expression of the way I see how things are. I think it can spark a debate, provide a way of looking at things. That intellectual conversation is very important."

While researching, he was fascinated by how ideas have transcended governments, politicians, bureaucrats and courts.

"In this rich tapestry of the way things happen, you can contribute to change in many ways. Do I want to contribute to change? Of course, I do. Does it have to be by wearing a hat called "politician"? I don't think so.

In India today change is happening from bewildering points of view "" through social activism, the courts, visionary politicians, bureaucrats." He wants to bring to the table "a set of ideas which will shift the debate a little bit.

"If I can make the argument more contemporary, that's a huge contribution. After that I can involve myself in those things which in my view have the most bang for the buck. This also gives me a way to analyse where it makes sense for me to spend my time. I do believe the book will give me a platform to influence the debate."

Recently he was "invited to speak at a forum of important decision-makers in India and I spoke about why they should look at the environment in a strategic way and I think they got it. That's good enough. Imagine the downstream value of that. That's a huge multiplier effect one can have."