What The World’s Most Over-Regulated Major Economy Wants

Gurcharan Das
Feb 9, 2026 | 21:02 IST

Even low-hanging reforms could be transformative. From deregulating govt processes and tourism to accepting GMO science, there are plenty of painless cards GOI can play to lift Indians’ fortunes

Even as the India-US deal brings sighs of relief, the learnings from a year of Trump tariffs’ pain should not be forgotten. Their heat has surely woken up GOI to how protectionist, over-regulated, and uncompetitive we are.

It explains (1) why India has failed to create an Industrial Revolution; (2) 45% of workers are still stuck in agriculture, half of them redundant; (3) our share of global exports is a miserable 2% in goods; (4) why global companies leaving China prefer Vietnam, despite India’s much larger domestic market; and (5) why India attracts a miserable 1.3% of world’s tourists despite its natural and cultural wealth.
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