Amit's Blog

Executive Summary Tamil Nadu has transformed from an agrarian economy in 1950 to India’s second-largest state economy by 2023–24, with a GSDP of ₹31 lakh crore and a per capita income (₹3,15,220) 1.71 times the national average. Its diversified economy—spanning automotive, textiles, electronics, IT, and sustainable agriculture—is underpinned by a 48.4% urbanization rate, 80.3% literacy, and a 6.5% poverty rate. Compared to Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, AP, and India, Tamil Nadu excels in social indicators (HDI: 0.708) and diversification, trailing Maharashtra in GSDP scale and Karnataka in IT dominance. Dravidian social reforms, the Green Revolution, post-1991 liberalization, and the 2021 Industrial Policy were pivotal. State budgets show opportunities in infrastructure and renewables but face constraints from welfare spending (40%) and debt (25% GSDP). Projected GSDP growth of 8–9% through 2025 hinges on electronics, IT, and green energy, leveraging strengths like a skilled workfor...

German goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg is credited with inventing the printing press around 1436, although he was far from the first to automate the book-printing process. Woodblock printing in China dates back to the 9th century and Korean bookmakers were printing with moveable metal type a century before Gutenberg. But most historians believe Gutenberg’s adaptation, which employed a screw-type wine press to squeeze down evenly on the inked metal type, was the key to unlocking the modern age. With the newfound ability to inexpensively mass-produce books on every imaginable topic, revolutionary ideas and priceless ancient knowledge were placed in the hands of every literate European, whose numbers doubled every century. How was printing done before the invention of the printing press? Before the printing press became widespread across Europe, books were produced as manuscripts. These were hand-written books, mostly produced by scribes, monks and other church officials, and were valuable p...