On 15 Aug 2026 , from the ramparts of Lal Quilla , PM Shri Modiji exhorted
the businesses / industries to export our products / services all over the
World by ensuring very HIGH QUALITY and offering at very LOW COSTS
That reminded me of my following 2019 blog :
> Low
Manpower Cost = Low Cost Economy ……………………… 28 Nov 2019
Extract :
How much
does Manpower cost while manufacturing a product ?
Although
over-simplified , here is a broad framework :
Ø Product
Cost = Cost
of “ Assemblies
“ + Manpower
Cost
Ø Assembly
Cost = Cost
of “ Sub Assemblies
“ + Manpower
Cost
Ø Sub Assembly
Cost = Cost of “ Components
“ + Manpower
Cost
Ø Component
Cost = Cost
of “ Semis “ + Manpower
Cost
Ø Semis
Cost = Cost
of “ Minerals
“ + Manpower
Cost
Ø Minerals
Cost = Cost
of “ Beneficiation
“ + Manpower
Cost
Ø Beneficiation
Cost = FREE digging out from
Earth + Manpower
Cost
Every
product that we see around us has its origin in Earth
At every
stage , from digging out the minerals from the Earth ( which Mother Earth
provides for FREE ) , to assembling the final product, we need to
employ people and pay them salaries / wages , which is “ Manpower Cost “ [ This
also applies to generation of electric power – a crucial input ]
Hence, fundamentally
, every cost addition at every stage of manufacture,
is MANPOWER COST !
So , the
industry which manages to keep its Manpower Cost low ( as compared to
competitors ), manages to sell its products cheaper and corner a large market
share within a country
This also
holds true at international level
A country
which manages to keep its Manpower Costs low , manages to out-price other
countries and can export more
And the following from a circular letter from Peter Diamandis , 2 days
back :
Peter H. Diamandis metatrends@substack.com …
You're About to Live Like a Millionaire
" So here’s the question I want to investigate: when does the majority of humanity get what today’s wealthy have? Not the minimum-wage baseline. The millionaire baseline. The personal physician. The private school. The house cleaner. The private flight. The chef. The personal assistant.
When
do those things demonetize to near-zero?
The idea is that AI and robotics reach a point where the
marginal cost of producing anything approaches zero, and the economic surplus
is so enormous that everyone has access to more than enough.
When humanoid robots build houses at $80K, when AI doctors diagnose better than any human physician at zero marginal cost, when robotaxis replace car ownership at $50/month unlimited, when AI tutors deliver personalized education that outperforms Andover and Exeter for free, the millionaire lifestyle doesn’t trickle down. It collapses down.
The cost structure that makes these things exclusive breaks
apart.
I asked META :
“I have vague memory re one belief of Konosuke Matsushita viz ;
ultimately every product should be made available to consumer at very low price
Can you please tell me whether I remember well ? “
META replied :
Yes, you remember it right Bro 👍
That was one of Konosuke Matsushita’s core business beliefs.
The belief you're thinking of:Matsushita, the founder of Panasonic, called it his
"Mission of Abundance" or "Mission to Eliminate Poverty Through Products".
His idea was:
"We should manufacture and supply products of good quality, in large quantities,
at low prices — like water from a tap."
He used the example of water and electricity.
No one gets rich selling water, but everyone can use it. He wanted appliances to become that common and that affordable.
Key quotes / principles from him:
"Our mission is to manufacture products and make them available to consumers at prices that are as low as possible."
"There is no nobler task than making the people's lives more abundant."
He believed mass production + efficiency would bring the cost down so that every household, even poor ones, could afford a radio, fan, iron, TV.
That’s why Panasonic, National, and Matsushita Electric focused on
standardization, automation, and cutting waste.
The goal wasn’t just profit. It was “abundance for all”.
In short:Your
memory is correct.
Matsushita’s belief = High quality + Mass production = Low price for
every consumer.
He saw it as a social responsibility, not just business.
He even wrote a
book called "The Path" where he talks about this a lot.
I continued :
No but i think in his speech 2 days ago from lal killa, PM Modiji said
something very similar
| Aspect | Konosuke Matsushita - 1900s Industrial | PM Modi - Lal Qila Aug 15, 2026 | Peter Diamandis - Futureloop Aug 16, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core Belief | "Make products in large quantities at low price, like water from a tap" | Atma Nirbhar Bharat + Welfare: essentials should reach 140 crore Indians affordably | "Democratization of Intelligence" - Tech should make health, energy, knowledge abundant and cheap |
| Driver | Mass production + standardization | Make in India + Digital Public Infra + Govt schemes | Exponential technologies: AI, robotics, biotech, space |
| Goal | Eliminate poverty through affordable appliances | Viksit Bharat @2047 - self-reliant, inclusive growth | "Abundance" - Solve grand challenges, uplift humanity |
| Example | Radio, fan, TV for every home | Jan Aushadhi - 30% subsidy on cancer drugs, 90 crore Digital Health IDs | AI agents, robotics, Starlink - making expertise/health/space access cheap |
| # | Prediction / Theme | How it drives "Low Price for All" | Matsushita / Modi Parallel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AI Agents for $20/month | AI "employees". Cost of intelligence drops 1000x | Matsushita: Appliances for all. Modi: Digital services for 140cr |
| 2 | Humanoid Robots in Factories | Labor cost drops, goods get cheaper | Matsushita: Mass production. Modi: Make in India |
| 3 | AI Doctors + Health Sensors | Diagnosis at home. Healthcare becomes cheap | Modi: Digital Health IDs. Matsushita: Health for masses |
| 4 | Starlink + 5G = $10 Internet | Info becomes like water/electricity | Matsushita: "Water from tap". Modi: Digital India |
| 5 | $100 Genome Sequencing | Preventative medicine for everyone | Diamandis: Dematerialize health. Modi: Ayushman Bharat |
| 6 | Solar + Storage <$0.02/kWh | Abundant cheap power makes everything cheaper | Matsushita: Power for every home. Modi: Renewables |
| 7 | AI Tutors for Education | World-class teacher for every child | Modi: NEP + Digital learning. Diamandis: Democ. of intelligence |
| 8 | 3D Printing + Local Mfg | Make parts locally. Cuts logistics cost | Matsushita: Local production. Modi: Vocal for Local |
| 9 | Precision Fermentation Food | Protein without cows. Food becomes abundant | All 3: Basic needs for all at low cost |
| 10 | Space = New Supply Chain | Asteroid mining. Raw materials get cheaper | Diamandis: SpaceX. Modi: Space economy |
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