Ankit

China supplies ~90% of India's toothbrush imports, but wait there's more: - 70% of toys. - 45%+ of consumer electronics components. - 90%+ of Diwali lights & decorations. - 70% of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs). - 100% of lithium batteries. From our morning routine to festival nights it's China, quietly running the show. No wonder why India's import bill from China was $101 billion (2023-24). While the trade deficit was $85 billion. The dependency isn't a coincidence. It's structural. India is not lacking capabilities, but intent and vision at scale. Phased manufacturing is not the only playbook we can have.

Becoming successful is not luck. It’s math. If your probability of success is 1/100 and you try 100 times, you have a 100% chance of success.

Excellent technical analytical column by Balvinder Singh Sandhu.

After finishing my Master’s in Journalism, I decided to start my own agency and create jobs instead of working for someone else. But soon after, I got a serious reality check. My GST application was rejected, not due to any issue in paperwork, but because the officers expected an in-person visit, just so I could "settle" things with them under the table. Getting international payments is a headache. RBI rules make it really tough. Even if a client pays you, the payment can get flagged, your account might get blocked, and you have to fight just to get your own money. And when you try to complain? No one gets back to you. Yet the same ministers go on public platforms to say entrepreneurs aren't building real value. It hurts. Not because building a business is hard, I signed up for that. But because when you're trying to do something right, you’re met with red tape, bribes, and zero support from the very system that claims to champion entrepreneurship.