Mention India to many CEOs and investors, and they will smile broadly at the thought of its “demographic dividend”. Two-thirds of India’s population are under-35,and are already swelling the numbers of those in the critical Wealth Creator 25 – 54 age group which drives economic growth. As the chart shows: India’s median age […]
Chemicals and the Economy
A Christmas wish: focus on toilets to create growth in 2015
2.5bn people in the world still lack access to toilets, according to the World Health Organisation. That’s down just 7% from the 2.7bn people without toilets in 1990. What have we been doing over the past 20 years to allow this terrible situation to continue? Why have we not focused on this area as a […]
Indian Oil join campaign to build toilets in India
The blog is delighted to be able to congratulate Indian Oil (IOC) on becoming the first company to commit to building toilets in India. In response to Premier Modi’s appeal, the chairman of India’s bggest refiner, B. Ashok, last week personally began to build toilets at a school near its refinery in Mathura in Uttar Pradesh state. IOC have […]
Modi highlights toilets in India’s Independence Day speech
The Indian Prime Minister’s address on Independence Day is the major event of the political year, equal to the US President’s ‘State of the Union’ speech. It was particularly important this year as India has a new reforming prime minister in Narendra Modi. It it is thus hugely significant that top of his agenda was opening up the country […]
Toilet provision key to Modi’s success in India
As the blog discussed last week, it seems that a new type of leader is starting to emerge in some of the world’s major countries. Premier Narendra Modi in India, like President Xi Jinping in China, seems to be focused on achieving change – and not just on staying in power for its own sake. His […]