“India isn’t as productive as it claims to be—and its engineers aren’t building the future.” In a recent interview, Hotmail Founder Sabeer Bhatia questioned India’s inflated GDP numbers and criticised the country’s tech culture for lacking innovation and practical thinking.
According to him, India’s GDP numbers are misleading and its tech talent lacks hands-on experience as well as critical thinking abilities.
“India is lying about GDP,” Bhatia said in his recent podcast interview in San Francisco. He explained that the country’s growth statistics reward monetary transactions over actual work.
“If I give you Rs 1,000 and you give it back to me, and we both pay GST, it counts as Rs 2,000 of GDP. But where’s the real work in that?”
Instead, he advocated for a system that values time and effort. “In the U.S., economic value is tied to the hours people work. That’s how output is measured. We need the same here—an hourly-based model that reflects true productivity,” he said.
Well, he didn’t just stop at economic policy in his an hour long interview. He also questioned the mindset of Indian engineers and the structure of tech education in India.
“99% of engineering graduates in India go into management and start giving ‘gyaan’ (advice). But who’s actually building products? Who’s solving real problems?” he asked.
He took aim at the glorification of tech leaders who focus on outsourcing rather than innovation. “We celebrate those who promote body shopping. They’re hailed as software gurus—despite never writing a single line of code.”
According to Bhatia, the solution lies in changing both work ethic and education. “We must value people who write code, build things, and think critically. That change has to start in classrooms and boardrooms.”
Sabeer Bhatia Advised How India Can Compete with China?
Comparing India’s approach with China’s, Bhatia highlighted how subsidised education and inclusive policies in China have led to broader participation in innovation.
Read more: Mass Deportations Could Wreck the U.S. Economy and Drive Up Prices, Experts Warn
“China educates everyone. They subsidise education—even cars. In India, education is becoming a luxury. Many just get a degree, get married, and focus on dowry. That’s the mindset we’re dealing with,” he said.
He further warned that without addressing these cultural gaps, India will continue to fall behind. “Stanford teaches what’s relevant today. But IITs are still stuck in the past. Innovation doesn’t come from textbooks—it comes from doing.”
