In 2018, India's banking sector was on the verge of collapse. NPAs had hit 11.2% - the worst crisis since independence.

However, by 2024, NPAs had dropped to 2.6% - a 12-year low. Banks recorded a profit of ₹3.1 lakh crore.

🧵How did India pull off this remarkable turnaround?

​(1/25) To understand this MASTERCLASS in crisis management, we need to go back to 1996.

This is a story of:
- 3 governments
- Multiple reforms
- Multiple RBI governors
- Painful transparency
- And the world's fastest banking sector recovery

Let's dive deep 👇​

(2/25)

One number tells the story of Bengal’s 60-year demographic shift.

1951: 5.1M Muslims
2011: 24.6M Muslims
A 381.7% rise, while Hindus grew only 210.2%.

The divergence is striking. Who benefits from not asking why? A thread 🧵

(1/6) In 1951, West Bengal was 76.9% Hindu and 19.6% Muslim.

The partition aimed to create stable homelands. Yet by 2011, Muslim numbers quintupled while Hindu growth lagged. What explains this?

(2/6)

Till 2014, India watched as China dominated. But in 2014, everything changed.

What made the world’s most complex democracy finally outpace the “unstoppable” China?

This wasn’t just a policy shift, but a national reset. Here’s how the tables truly turned 🧵👇

(1/15) Why China Was Winning (2000-2013)

China had a simple formula:
- Build factories → Create jobs → Export everything
- Invest massively in roads, trains, ports​
- Peak growth: 14.2% in 2007
The world called it the "Chinese Miracle"​

(2/15)

67 years. 1947 to 2014. India managed to create just 51,348 MBBS seats.

2014-2025: 75,252 seats added.

The last 10 years added 24,000 MORE seats than the previous 67 years combined.

🧵India now stands at 1,26,600 MBBS seats.

(1/9) While we were expanding at home, Indian doctors were conquering the world:

USA: 69,000+ doctors (26.5% of ALL immigrant physicians)

UK: 19,000-26,000 doctors
Thousands more across Canada & Australia
India is the #1 source of immigrant doctors globally.

(2/9)

Why does external debt-to-GDP matter?

The lower it is, the safer India is from dollar risks and global shocks.
It illustrates the extent to which our economy is tied to foreign debt and our ability to meet those obligations.

🧵Let’s see how that story unfolded over two decades In 1991, India’s EDG ratio reached the alarming levels of 38.7% during the balance-of-payments crisis.

The 21st-century story is one of reform, drift, and revival for the Indian economy.

Let's chart the journey under three prime ministers of the 21st century.

(2/9)

When India’s GDP per capita overtook Sub-Saharan Africa in 2016, it marked a quiet turning point.

As the world’s 4th largest economy, India has changed the global conversation.

Yet the rise in its per capita income still holds powerful stories waiting to be told.

1/8 In 1960, India’s GDP was $37 billion, while that of Sub-Saharan Africa was $36 billion.

By 2013, the size of both economies was $1.8 trillion.

2/8

India’s return to its ranking at the time of independence took close to 8 decades.

Here is the story of India’s decline & decline, slow rise & then a steady rise.

(1/14) Nehru Era (1947-1964):

- India started at rank 6 in 1947, slipped to 8 by 1964.
- In 17 years under PM Nehru, India nationalized many private institutions.
- India chose an economic model that was socialist in nature.

(2/14)