New Delhi Jan 7
World renowned proponent of corporate strategy C K Prahalad today said commerce must be democratised so that the poor at the "bottom of the economic pyramid" are not treated as a burden but as valuable micro consumers.
In his address at the NRI conclave 'Pravasi Bharatiya Divas', Prahalad said the "under-served consumers" have enormous collective spending power and they could become the next engine of growth.
Prahalad, who is the Paul and Ruth McCracken Distinguished Professor of Corporate Strategy at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, has authored a best-seller 'Bottom of the economic pyramid'.
"If we stop thinking of the poor as victims or as a burden and start recognizing them as resilient and creative entrepreneurs and value conscious consumers, a whole new world of opportunity will open up," reads the opening statement of Prahalad's book In his address, he said democratisation of commerce was built on a simple premise that every human being must have access to the benefits of globalisation both as a consumer and as a producer.
But this was far from reality today. "The bottom of pyramid has been totally ignored and is outside the purview of the organised sector," he said.
The celebrated professor, who is also known for the concept of 'core competence', shared his 2025 vision of India.
This included 100 per cent literacy and access to quality health care, building world's largest source of brain with 200 million graduates and 400 million trained technicians and 25 Indian firms in the Fourtune 100.
According to Prahalad's 2025 vision, about 10 per cent of world's top 100 universities and 10 Nobel laureates in the sciences and the arts would come from India. Besides, the country would account for 10 per cent of the global trade. He complimented the Indian government and industry for achieving "great accomplishments".
However, there are dramatic contrasts in the country. "Great economic success with abject poverty; world class health care with millions of needless and preventable deaths; and world class education with massive illiteracy co-exist," he said.
Asking the NRIs to enhance their engagement with motherland, Prahalad said India must not import pre-packaged solutions.
While the country must develop its own solutions, the diaspora can bring clarity to issues and help redefine them. He also asked the people of Indian origin to support the country's foreign policy as they have done for the civilian nuclear deal with the US.
He said contrary to "brain drain", the NRIs represent "brain bank" and not just dollars for investment.