Swaminathan Aiyer has a nice column in Times of India on what India should do as it forges ahead. I completely agree with the following sentences of his column.

What, then should we do in the future? We need to focus on connectivity and deregulation, rather than specific industrial policies. Deregulation and connectivity have enabled Indian cities to take off, often in unanticipated new businesses. But 70% of people still live in rural areas. India needs to provide connectivity to every village. Every village should have an all-weather road, electricity and telecom. Every village also needs a functioning school, not absentee teachers.

Provide decent education and connectivity, and the villages will turn into high-productivity towns. I’m not sure this approach is grand enough to be called strategy. But it is what India needs.