IAS Officer Asks Lee Kuan Yew How to Make India The Next Singapore

Lee Kuan Yew, the founding father and first prime minister of Singapore, was one of the most visionary statesmen of the 20th century and widely admired for transforming a small island nation into a global hub of business, prosperity, and efficiency.

In this rare compilation of events spanning over two decades, we revisit his candid thoughts on India’s challenges, structural limitations, and possibilities for reform drawn from multiple talks, interviews, and public interactions with Indian students, leaders, and bureaucratic officials.

Throughout the years, Yew's message to India was clear: it has enormous potential but also missed many opportunities due to complex bureaucracy, rampant corruption, and a mindboggling diversity of cultures and languages, among other factors.

He points to issues such as bureaucratic red tape, coalition politics, weak infrastructure, and deep linguistic and cultural diversity, which make governance in India uniquely complicated. Yet, he also acknowledges India’s achievements in the form of its democratic resilience and ability to hold together given such vast diversity.

As such, Yew talks about what India can learn from China, Singapore, and even its own cities like Mumbai, when it comes to applying his core principles of good governance, integrity, meritocracy, and fairness, offering timeless insights and practical lessons for India’s policymakers and citizens alike.

Watch till the end to explore how one of the world’s greatest statesmen viewed India’s path forward in the 21st century.

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