Second, they can take the lead in decisive policy-making. Many companies have internal think-tanks that project into the future, and thoughtful reports on affairs domestic and international. They could share those reports and turn the think-tanks into independently funded institutions.

Third, they could help break up the “Delhi clique.” From Bombay, it feels as if country is run by a small clique of politicians, journalists, academics and bureaucrats who are quite disconnected from the rest of the country. Yet they affect all our lives. All companies have listening posts in New Delhi. All business associations like FICCI and CII are based in Delhi. Why? Why should Nasscom, the software association, be based in Delhi instead of Bangalore? Headquarter some of these associations in other parts of the country, like Bangalore and Calcutta, Amritsar and Guwahati. Let debate flower across the country.

Lastly, Indian business ought to take advantage of its internationalisation. Geopolitics is changing; India is no longer politically or economically isolated. But its foreign policy is hopelessly outdated. We are a major power in Asia, yet the only voices that are heard on Asia, are Western voices, and more recently, the Chinese voice.

We need to a view from New Delhi. At the moment, it looks a little pink. Apart from Jawaharlal Nehru University, there is no major Indian university that offers a respectable, internationally recognised degree in international relations. There are some foreign policy think tanks in New Delhi, but none that are truly independent.

... contd.