Lessons From India's Tech Industry

NPR

Published April 21, 2015 at 12:52 PM EDT

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The famous clock tower located in the middle of the old city in Allahabad is pictured on March 4, 2015. The roads are clogged with traffic, the pavements overflow with rubbish and power cuts are a fact of life. But Allahabad, an ancient settlement on the banks of the Ganges, is hoping to become one of India's first tech-savvy 'smart cities' under ambitious plans being piloted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (Sanjay Kanojia/AFP/Getty Images)

India is now the world’s fastest growing economy, beating out China. For those in the tech industry, that may come as no surprise, with the country’s strong ecosystem for both homegrown startups and overseas giants.

Companies like Amazon have poured billions into the country to compete with India’s Flipkart, and Uber’s local rival Ola Cabs has kept its footing by raising hundreds of millions of dollars.

Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson speaks with Jason Del Rey of Re/code, who traveled overseas to the India Internet Day conference and spent a week checking out their tech scene.

Re/code: India Tech Startups: Seven Things That Blew My Mind

Guest

Jason Del Rey, senior editor for commerce at the tech news site Re/code. He tweets@DelRey.