Indian manufacturing’s moment may finally have arrived. A group of Indian states—call it “Industrial Pradesh”—adds some $240bn of manufacturing value a year, half of India’s total. Its experience holds a number of lessons for the country as a whole.

China wants teenagers to read a classic English novel. Having once imposed strict limits on births, China’s government is now intensifying efforts to build a “birth-friendly society”. It isn’t doing well. Could “Jane Eyre” help?

Why your favourite bakery and coffee shop now sell tote bags. We unpack the bizarre craze for mini totes from Trader Joe’s, an American grocery shop, and explain why the business of merchandise is no longer a Mickey Mouse operation.