Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

Within a few weeks after recruitment notices along with the employees responsible for recruitment were sent to the North, Millions of labourers like Indra, Manju, and their group arrived in droves.

This caused a huge repercussion for the whole empire.

---

Somewhere in Bengaluru

"Mr Bakshi, I have heard that you have bought a few thousand acres of land and have already started constructing 20 new textile, factories."

Pawan Kalyan, the patriarch of the Kalyan family, chairman of the board of directors of the Bharatiya Southern United Bank, and director of the Kalyan Group of Enterprises, couldn’t help but ask, with a hint of envy in his tone.

Although his own rate of earning money wasn’t slow when compared to a top textile king like Arjan Bakshi, he could only be considered as a government wage earner who earned money steadily.

This difference has become more prominent in recent times, where the rate of capital generation in the industrial sector has become somewhat abnormal; millionaires are being produced overnight by the dozens, and Pawan Kalyan, who could see all this with his own eyes, couldn’t help but seek out one of the richest industrialists in the empire, who by coincidence also happened to be an acquaintance and friend.

Pawan Kalyan’s face was filled with uncertainty, "Is the textile industry so profitable?" he asked, his expression was very sincere because he was currently confused. Despite having achieved so much, rapid changes in recent times made him doubt whether he had chosen the wrong direction by concentrating on the construction industry.

Arjan Bakshi took a sip of tea with a smile on his face.

He was in a very pleasant mood, and looking at the eager and confused expression on Pawan’s face, Arjan couldn’t help but feel a little proud.

As for whether he found it surprising that Pawan Kalyan would ask such a question, he did not. Given the line of business Pawan was in, it made sense. As a direct contractor under the government, all payments to the labourers were set by the government. Thus, he didn’t have much autonomy in his finances, except for the considerable profits earned after each contract was completed.

After feeling proud for a few more moments and cool about his pretentiousness, Arjan Bakshi finally chose to help out his influential friend in his dilemma, especially since the issue was nothing difficult for him to solve. More importantly, he would love to have the favour of Kalyan, the chairman of the board of directors of one of the three banks of the empire.

"If you say that the textile industry is profitable, then you are right." Pawan immediately made an expression like ’I knew it.’

"However, a small correction—it’s not only the textile industries but also various manufacturing industries that are so profitable." Pawan had already guessed this, but he didn’t bring it up as he wanted Arjan’s opinion about his dilemma and the reason for the unusual situation.

Arjan continued, "However, these good times are only because of the integration of the empire."

Pawan Kalyan’s eyebrows were raised. "How so?"

"Well, let me tell you, it’s not a big secret; you’d come to know of this news with a little inquiry."

Pawan listened intently.

"You do know that the salary for an average male worker is 300 Varaha, right?"

Pawan Kalyan thought for a moment and nodded because this was true even in his business; it was usually around 250 to 350 Varaha.

However, the words that came out of Arjan’s mouth greatly shocked him.

"But do you know that the minimum salary stipulated by the Ministry of Trade, Commerce, and Industry is still set at 100 Varaha for women and 150 Varaha for men?"

Pawan Kalyan’s mouth was wide open."What!", ’Unbelievable!’

Arjan laughed. "Haha, I know, right? It’s surprising to see that this regulation, set up before the total war with the Mughal Empire, is still the legal minimum wage for men and women."

"Before, the only reason we had to keep paying 300 Varaha for a man was because of the overall increase in living standards and the overall increase in productivity in this southern part of the empire. So, even if we wanted to employ someone at this stipulated wage level, no one would be willing to take our job."

"However, all of this has changed since last month. The productivity and per capita income of people in the North are almost two times lower than our own, so the stipulated minimum wage salary is fully applicable to these labourers."

"Currently, even before my factories have been constructed, I have already employed 20,000 labourers from the state of Gujarat alone, and I only pay 3 million Varaha per month for them instead of 6 million Varaha."

"Adding to the fact that exports to Europe and Southeast Asia have reached an all-time high, especially for textiles, I dare say there isn’t anything more profitable at this time than the manufacturing sector."

Pawan Kalyan was immediately restless. What is the concept of paying 50% less? Isn’t it 50% more profit for himself? Or he could even use these savings to expand production, and with the expansion of production, the manufacturing costs would decrease, raw material procurement costs would go down, and profits could go way over 50%—maybe even 70%. And with the export of these products to European countries, along with a hefty 30% rebate from the transportation companies of Europe, isn’t it 100%+ profit?

Pawan Kalyan looked at Arjan Bakshi with amazement, eagerness and envy.

He now really felt that he had gotten into the wrong industry, but unfortunately, the nature of his business and his current position, with many bank shareholders watching his every move, made it almost impossible for him to transform. He would have to do more research before he could find an alternative to get into the sector.

Arjan Bakshi was taken aback by the expression of eagerness and annoyance on Pawan Kalyan’s face.

"Oi, oi, you’re not looking to transform your Kalyan Group of Enterprises into an industrial group, are you?"

Pawan Kalyan naturally didn’t have this idea but grew curious. "Why, is it not a good choice?"

Arjan Bakshi shook his head. "No, that’s not what I’m saying. All I’m saying is that it’s just too risky. Do remember, the whole reason industrial enterprises are making a lot of money now is only because the minimum wage has yet to change. Once it does, the profits we earn will go back to the time before integration, maybe a little more than that, due to the increased consumer base and human resources, but nothing too exaggerated like it is now."

He was almost sweating, not wanting to be misunderstood by the man opposite him. Being a lower-class titled noble himself, he understood the power Pawan Kalyan held as one of the few remaining noble families from the Vijayanagar era. Even in the current Bharatiya Empire, the Kalyan family commanded respect from the newer titled nobles. The Kalyan family had become a secondary model for how a noble should behave, second only to the royal family. This reputation enabled Pawan Kalyan to serve as chairman and head of the board of directors at a bank whose purpose was to assist the empire’s nobility in maintaining and safeguarding their assets.

Arjan’s explanation was quite animated, and his expression anxious. "If His Majesty normalizes the regulation to 300 Varaha or even 200 Varaha, it’s not worth the risk for you. Before integration, my profits were only a little more than yours. But unlike your business, I don’t have the stability of government contracts. While you get less money, it’s steady, whereas I constantly have to find new markets, marketing methods, and designs. Most industrial enterprises that serve civilian sectors face the same challenge. So it’s better you wait a while before making any drastic decisions. Or, if you’re really eager, you could just invest in a medium-scale factory and see how things go from there."

’Oh right, investment could also be a way. Look at me, running a bank and forgetting such a thing,’ Pawan Kalyan was enlightened. "Well, Arjan, thank you for your suggestion. I almost made a big mistake. I owe you this favour for today." He joined his hands in *namaskara* with sincerity.

Arjan Bakshi was happy but then was suddenly surprised when he was handed a document. Curiously, he looked through it, and his face was immediately filled with amazement.

"Hey, Pawan, this is not how friends behave. I readily helped you understand the current situation in the industry, but how can you not notify me of such a big thing?"

Pawan Kalyan was noncommittal as he waived his hands,

"This is not a big secret; in a few days, you would have known and you would have also benefited largely, but by joining hands with me, you saved yourself a large amount of trouble, and you won’t have to worry about your inexperience in these matters, as my collaborators and I have the richest experience in this regard. This is the greatest benefit you can obtain."

Arjan Bakshi immediately understood that his divulging news about the industrial sector was the payment required to get in on Kalyan’s massive plan. "Well then, it looks like I owe you a big favour instead."

Pawan Kalyan shrugged as if this was expected.

After spending a few more minutes in casual chat, both Arjan Bakshi and Pawan Kalyan parted ways.

---

Bakshi Textiles and Kalyan Group of Enterprises are just two of the major, highly profitable industrial and real estate groups that benefited greatly from the integration.

Nearly all industrial companies in the southern part of the empire grew at an explosive rate from August to December. The same is true for all real estate companies.

Due to cheap labour, the issue of efficiency has even been set aside; entrepreneurs and business owners have started establishing their companies near raw materials instead of around various riverbank industrial hubs. Although this shift led to an increase in human resources needed and a slight drop in efficiency, the lower labour costs made up for it. Establishing companies close to raw materials has also resolved the scalability challenges posed by real estate and human resource requirements.

Industrial companies have started appearing in every resource-rich area. Even small-scale factories have begun purchasing hundreds of acres of land with further expansion in mind.

In a similar way, the real estate industry experienced unprecedented growth. Compared to land prices in the southern part of the empire, the cost of land in the northern part is dirt cheap. For example, if a square foot of agricultural land costs 50 Varaha on average in the south, similar, more fertile land in the north might cost only around 10 Varaha or even less, depending on accessibility.

With Pawan Kalyan’s Kalyan Group of Enterprises spearheading the movement and the entire Bharatiya Southern United Bank leading the way, other large-scale real estate companies began acquiring land by the hundreds of thousands of acres, especially in the Indo-Gangetic Plains, which contains some of the most fertile soil in the world.

Acting as a pathfinder, Pawan Kalyan also inadvertently paved the way for medium and small-scale real estate companies, which followed suit by securing large tracts of fertile land in the north.

In just two months, nearly 900,000 acres of fertile land had been acquired, with the million mark close at hand. This figure is only expected to rise with the involvement of middle-class citizens eager to expand their family properties. Overall, buying fertile land in the north and contracting its management rights to a large real estate company has become a highly attractive long-term investment for many in the southern part of the empire.

This is one of the reasons why Arjan Bakshi was so thankful to Pawan Kalyan; even though he has the ability to acquire a large amount of land, he does not have the capability to manage it. Large-scale farming has already taken shape in the Bharatiya Empire in the form of ox-drawn harvesters and agricultural machines, all of which require company-style operational planning—a skill neither Arjan Bakshi nor his Bakshi Textiles possess.

Even if he could establish a company with his resources to manage this, he chose not to, as he believes there is limited growth potential in the agricultural sector. What he appreciates most about it is its stability and risk aversion. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

---

25th October 1658

Shourya Royal Palace

Chief Secretary Ganesh of the Emperor’s office had been frequently sending reports about the unusual movements in the economy after the integration to his majesty, where the major focus was on the unusual population migration and the unnatural land acquisition from the southern elites.

Vijay, who had seen the reports, was very happy with the results.

The problem with minimum wage is not a mistake, but it is left unchanged intentionally because Vijay wants to prepare the empire for the upcoming industrial revolution, so it is best that industrial enterprises are located near the sources of raw materials. With the invention of the steam engine, the heart of the first Industrial Revolution, all the riverbank industrial zones will become outdated due to there being no space for expansion, much higher land prices, a very big risk of flooding, and, most importantly, a lot more pollution dumped into the rivers.

So even though the situation of importing cheap labour from the north is a little exploitative, promising them enough salary for their livelihood, and implementing rules to safeguard the housing and food of the northern labourers is the best Vijay could do.

As for the problem with the southern elites or people with high disposable income buying up large tracts of fertile land in the north is also not a mistake. This is exactly what Vijay intended to happen. In Vijay’s last life, India was a country where nearly 43% of its able-bodied population was engaged in agriculture but only contributed around 18% of the GDP.

This is a huge waste of human resources and a disastrously inefficient societal system, so Vijay, taking inspiration from the American farming model, wants to introduce a large-scale agricultural system to make agriculture more efficient.

For this to happen, large capital involvement is necessary, and a small number of landowners controlling a large amount of land is also required. Only in this way can large-scale farming be successful.

The only regulation put forward by the government, especially by the Land Audit Bureau, is that agricultural land can only be used for agriculture. This condition is generally flexible once the real estate developer pays a fee to convert land into commercial or industrial use. However, this rule is strictly enforced in the Indo-Gangetic region, which has some of the most fertile soil in the world; using it for anything else would be a waste of God’s gift.