For all their vaunted aggression, the tycoons stumbled because they did not adapt to a significant change in India’s political economy. Many had come of age before liberalisation, a time when capital was scarce but political problems were easy to negotiate. These two foundational assumptions then changed. First, capital became cheaper, as globalisation extended its reach during the 2000s and long-starved tycoons helped themselves to as much funding as they could find. But then, against a backdrop of corruption scandals, the promoters found their old political tricks no longer worked. Saddled
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