Before Manmohan Singh took over as India’s Finance Minister in 1991, the country was in the midst of an economic crisis. India’s growth was stagnating, its foreign reserves were dangerously low, and its economy was weighed down by a burdensome License Raj, which stifled entrepreneurship and foreign investment. South Africa can draw valuable lessons from India's economic transformation under Manmohan Singh's leadership. Lerato Mbele was in conversation with Prof William Gumede from Wits School of Governance and Director, Centre for Indian Studies in Africa and Mellon Chair in Indian Studies - Professor Dilip Menon.