Why India is struggling to produce CEOs like Nadella, Pichai at home

A critical mass of creative, innovative management is a key human capital resource that countries need, just as much as a well-educated and healthy workforce. India lacks both

One of the great things about the periodic visits by marquee Indian-origin chief executive officers (CEOs) such as Alphabet and Google’s Sundar Pichai and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella is that they leave middle-class Indians basking in the warm glow of reflected glory. Both usually pay obligatory obeisance to that ultra-scarce resource in India: Human capital. Mr Nadella on his recent visit said: “There is no denying that anyone who does not tap into India’s human capital is making a choice to not be competitive.”

 

At one level, Mr Nadella’s statement can be read as an urgent message to the incoming Trump