Q. How do you find the IIM Bill? Does it give autonomy to the IIMs?

A. The current version of the IIM Bill addresses most concerns about autonomy, and in return it seeks greater accountability. In business, we often teach students that the path to efficiency and effectiveness is to decentralize responsibilities and then hold people accountable. IIM Bill has these features. It is now up to the IIMs.

Q. Do you think institutes of national importance should be sheltered from political pressures?

A. Not just institutes of national importance, but all academic institutions should be insulated from political pressures.

Q. How do you see the recent cases of Ramjas College and JNU? Do you see institutes being branded with a particular political ideology?

A. Academic institutes in India have allowed political activity for a long time. Even when I was a student, colleges had active student unions. A democratic society is characterized by vibrant political discourse among its youth, particularly in colleges. One of the distinguishing qualities of a good university is that it allows, even encourages, debate and dialogue between people with different perspectives and different approaches. Threats that silence alternate views make academic life dull and uncivil.

Q. Recently, there was a mockery of Harvard. Do you think hard work is the core of nation building exercise and Harvard is nothing?

A. Harvard or IIM or other elite institutions ... how much they contribute to society is an interesting question. I sometimes ask students if business success is the result of circumstances or effort. After some debate, students agree that success results from a mix of both. Hard work makes a huge amount of difference. So, hard work matters a lot. But so does being in a good environment, where you are learning from others, having good conversations, and getting motivated to excel.Thus, the best key to success is not `hard work or Harvard', it is `hard work and Harvard'.

Q. But in India GST is multi-layered unlike in other countries

A. It is at least better than where we have been. India should operate as one nation.For instance, the European Union operates more like a nation than India does, in terms of barriers to movement of goods. There will be efficiency gains from implementing GST.Once we get there, let us see how things work and then go to the next stage of rationalizing tariffs.

Q. The Economic Survey has predicted 6.75% to 7.50% growth for the year 2017-18. Is this feasible considering the impact of demonetization and the slump in manufacturing sector?

A. Economists much more skilled than I would be able to comment on near-term economic prospects and consequences of demonetization, which was an event in itself. I can look at the medium and long term and say that prospects for the Indian economy are bright for three reasons. One, our demography favours growth. We are a large, young nation and will continue to be a young nation fo some years. Second, our culture is conducive to growth. Indians are hard working, family oriented, tend to invest in education, and have ties across generations. Third, the socio-political environment is supportive of growth. Although inefficient, we have rule of law. It is a lou and raucous nation, but a democracy, where people feel they are able to voice their views. So, the future for India is bright. If the government focuses on three important things--education, health, and infrastructure--that bright future may come sooner than later.

Q. Do you think spending on social sectors should be increased?

A. To some extent we are already doing that, but the focus of public policy should be not only on investment but also on implementation.Things that block efficiency--archaic rules, ponderous bureaucracy-should be addressed. For example, GST is a very good approach.There will be some challenges in implementing in a short run. But in the long run, taking away intra-national barriers adds to economic progress.