Why does 50% of India’s workforce remain in agriculture while the U.S. has just 2%?

Despite all those hands in the soil, the sector contributes just 15-18% to the GDP. 

While countries like the U.S. and Europe shifted quickly from agriculture to industry, India's progress was pretty slow. So, is it too late for India to catch up and move on from agriculture?

Although India did build textile mills and steel plants, its industrialization lagged behind faster-growing Asian economies like Japan, South Korea, and China, which aggressively pursued manufacturing.

So, what happened? 

Well, India’s focus remained on agriculture, missing the chance to build a strong industrial base that could absorb its large agricultural workforce. But there’s a new hurdle—manufacturing isn’t the job creator it once was.

Experts like Subhash Garg argue India may have missed the industrialization train. With automation reducing labour needs, ramping up manufacturing might not create enough jobs for India’s vast workforce.

In this episode of The Neon Show, Subhash Garg, former Secretary of Economic Affairs, shares his unique perspective on India's economic ambitions and the journey toward the $10 Trillion Dream.

Check out Subhash Garg's book, We Also Make Policy : An Insider's Account of How the Finance Ministry Functions, https://www.amazon.in/We-Also-Make-Policy-Functions/dp/9356994714

Timestamps
00:00 - Trailer
01:25 - Subhash Garg’s background in economic affairs
03:27 - Why has India's "10 Trillion Dollar Dream" dented
10:04 - India’s current GDP
12:50 - Need to shift labour from agriculture to high-value sectors
16:48 - Why India missed industrialisation
20:26 - The global manufacturing train left—and India missed it
21:55 - Why should you invest in services for real growth
26:55 - Sports, gaming, and entertainment are hidden gems for rural jobs
29:54 - Why is agriculture unreformed
31:34 - The impact of subsidies: is it a dead-end for farmers?
36:47 - Garg explains GDP with the “potato chip” example
42:42 - Why is farmers’ share of the final product small
47:10 - India’s manufacturing needs a tech boost
48:22 - Why India’s PLI schemes aren’t hitting their targets
52:58 - How India’s service sector thrived due to minimal regulation
1:01:57 - Garg’s positive take on brain drain
1:10:10 - Millionaires on the move
1:11:50 - Support for short sellers as market correctors
1:13:12 - Announcement of Garg's book, expected in October
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Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. 

Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.

We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.
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