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N. CHANDRASEKARAN AND ROOPA PURUSHOTHAMAN
Bridgital Nation Solving technology’s people problem Foreword by RATAN N. TATA
PENGUIN BOOKS
Contents Foreword Introduction THE BRIDGITAL TRANSFORMATION 1. Flashing Lights 2. Playing Roles 3. Wrapping Technology around People THE ACCESS CHALLENGE 4. Calculations 5. The Great Medical Migration 6. Twice Exceptional 7. The Big Disease 8. Out of Reach 9. Imbalances 10. Outreach 11. Bridging Access XX FACTOR—THE TALENT DIVIDEND 12. An Unlikely Officer 13. The Talent Dividend 14. The Spark 15. Twice-Hit Economy 16. Waiting for a Role Model 17. Releasing the Talent Gridlock 18. The Easiest Fix THE JOBS CHALLENGE 19. Puzzles 20. Jobs Count 21. Waterproof 22. A Two-Track Economy 23. Twice Exposed 24. Escalator Sectors 25. The Saju Mini Supermarket 26. Investing in Fundamentals EVERYWHERE ENTREPRENEURSHIP 27. The Entrepreneur’s Tale 28. The End of the Shift 29. The Great Skew
30. Goldilocks Entrepreneurs 31. A Solitary Enterprise 32. Embracing Everywhere Entrepreneurship 33. Small Business, Large Impact BRIDGITAL IN ACTION 34. New Aims 35. ASHAs 36. The Clinicograph 37. Ubayakushalaopari 38. Recovery 39. The Bridgital Model 40. Bridgital More Broadly Conclusion Notes Acknowledgements Follow Penguin Copyright
Advance Praise for the Book
‘Bridgital Nation offers a penetrating look at today’s India, and suggests a novel approach for reimagining automation as a human aid, not a replacement’—Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft ‘Bridgital Nation is a beautifully written book, with its authentic view of India from the trenches coupled with an ambitious vision for the country. It brings to life the challenges of jobs and access to basic services like health and education through real-life narratives of people across India. This book shows how the deliberate use of AI and machine learning, coupled with human skills, can solve these issues and place India on an accelerated path to growth and prosperity. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand today’s India and how it could be a force to be reckoned with in the coming decade’—Indra Nooyi, former CEO, PepsiCo ‘The economic challenges facing the world require us to bring people and technology together. Bridgital shows that with creative new approaches, success is possible’—Michael Bloomberg, CEO, Bloomberg L.P. ‘An absolutely brilliant book, based on deep analysis and rooted in practical insights. N. Chandra and Roopa Purushothaman combine decades of experience of applying technology to problems at scale and macroeconomic development, respectively. Bridgital is an original idea, to simultaneously find a way for India to create jobs and also improve access to services, using the latest technology. This book is a must-read for those aspiring to solve India’s seemingly intractable challenges, at speed and population
scale’—Nandan Nilekani, co-founder and chairman, Infosys, and founding chairman, UIDAI (Aadhaar) ‘Innovation focused on creating access and building markets has been the core of economic development for countries throughout the world, and India is no different. Chandra helped build one of India’s most innovative and successful companies, and so knows first-hand what creating this growth requires. What Chandra and Roopa propose in Bridgital Nation is an extremely insightful look at how India can harness technological innovation to transform its economy’— Clayton Christensen, professor of business administration, Harvard Business School ‘Bridgital Nation is a brilliant book that should be mandatory reading for anyone interested in charting a new path forward for India in the twenty-first century. Through gripping ethnographic depictions and examples, N. Chandrasekaran and Roopa Purushothaman identify the unique circumstances of India’s contemporary challenges in areas ranging from health care to job cre