Second, India is producing far more world-class companies than China. The best known are the wizards of software and “business process outsourcing”—Indian firms have two-thirds of the global market in offshore IT services and nearly half that in BPO. But now they are being joined by manufacturers. Again, unlike China, this manufacturing boom cannot be explained by cheap labour, but by the efficient use of technology. India's merchandise exports grew by a quarter last year.
.....So expect to see a lot more of Indian business. But can its success make India as a whole richer? In economic terms, India is still poor and small. It holds a sixth of the world's population but accounts for just 1.3% of world exports of goods and services, and 0.8% of foreign direct investment flows (compared with 6.6% and 8.2% respectively for China). At $728, its GDP-per-head is less than half China's. Put as starkly as possible, Indian business will make a packet if the economy grows at 6% a year; but if the country is to catch up with China in the lifetimes of its young population (and provide them with jobs), India needs to grow much faster. Otherwise, poverty will persist for decades and social tensions will mount.