Success despite govt, courtesy jugaad

When an overwhelming majority of Chinese businessmen say that the main reason for their success is network connections (guangxi), especially with government officials, most Indian businessmen attribute their success to Jugaad, ability to get around prohibitive laws.Most Indian businessmen see corruption a problem when the Chinese success story is mainly Government led. China has been less resilient in dealing with the economic crisis and is likely to end up with a weaker workforce, writes Swaminathan Aiyar in Economic Times.

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"No less than 93% of Chinese businessmen say the main reason for their spectacular success is network connections (guangxi), especially with government officials. Indian businessmen, however, have succeeded despite the government: 81% say the main reason for their success is jugaad, the ability to find innovative way round prohibitive rules and institutions."

"This is the key finding of a survey of 4,000 businessmen in the two countries by YouGov, a top online survey organisation, and the Legatum Institute, an independent think tank. "

"Most Indian business owners view the government as corrupt, wasteful and ineffective. They acknowledge major gains from liberalisation but see corruption as a terrible problem that merits top priority in the future."

"India's main successes are in the private sector, while its main failures are in the government sector. That is surely a major reason why India has lagged behind China for three decades. It may yet overtake China in the next decade because of its demographic dividend. In 2011-20, India's workforce will increase by 110 million, but China's by less than 20 million, according to a Goldman Sachs study. This advantage may translate into faster GDP growth."

"One-fifth in India and just over onethird in China believe the global financial crisis has made starting and running a business more difficult."

"This suggests that China has been less resilient than India in facing the financial crisis. This probably flows from China's greater dependence on exports."

"But the confidence now exuded by Indian and Chinese entrepreneurs shows that feelings of inferiority induced by the colonial era are almost entirely gone."

"Chinese entrepreneurs say the main reason for starting businesses is to make money. Indians give money a lower priority, and say their main motivation is independence, being one's own boss."

"Only a small fraction - 6% in China and 2% in India - sees philanthropy or volunteerism as the primary means for creating social impact. "