Publisher's Note: By the government's account, India's GDP is now higher than China's, in a two-way race for precedence that gets more interesting each year. More important, India's national business model, unlike China's, is not based on theft and fraud. This means that its prospects in the mid- and long term ought to be better: deeper and longer-lasting.

We are now living in a world where emerging nations are becoming developed nations, and where developed nations have some sectors that display emerging-nation problems. If the world is becoming a more complex place, it is also becoming more exciting, and more prosperous.

Of all the countries with the most potential, and often disappointing results, India is in the lead. As our India editor, Rafiq Dossani, outlines in this week's discussion, the current government has offered the promise of reform and new politics, but no doubt has encountered the same headwinds as have past administrations.

Leaders in technology are already moving operations out of China and into places like Vietnam (for lower labor costs) or India (for better-educated, and English-speaking, engineers). Obviously, they would prefer to succeed in countries that don't require stripping of their crown jewel IP as part of the "deal."

In that sense, and after many years of post-Information Age preparation, this race is now India's to lose. The world is no longer confused about China's intent or methods; but many are unclear about whether India can really deliver on its promise.

For this reason, I would encourage all of our members to dive into Rafiq's intimate look at what is really going on behind the scenes in India today. - mra