New Delhi

India needs economic engines at every district level for balanced regional development, stated Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu on Saturday. Vembu described himself as an experimental economist and proposed the idea of economic engines for cities or districts. He explained that regions should focus on what they can sell to the rest of the world to balance what they buy. This concept of selling products or services from a region is considered the economic engine, Vembu posted on X.

Revenue from this economic engine should be analyzed for the value added in the region, including labor income and profits distributed to local residents. Regional prosperity can then be measured by the value added per person by the economic engine. If this measure is high, the region is considered prosperous, Vembu explained.

As an example, Vembu noted that Zoho adds $100 million in economic value annually to the Tenkasi region in Tamil Nadu. With a population of about 1.4 million, Zoho’s contribution translates to approximately $70 per person at the district level.

Vembu emphasized that such economic engines are needed in every district in India, across all 800+ districts, as this approach is key to achieving balanced regional development.