India, Oct. 9 -- In his book The Mystery of Capital, Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto explored why capitalism had flourished in the West but stalled elsewhere. His answer was that it was not a matter of culture or a lack of initiative; after all, the poor are generally hardest-working and enterprising. But they lacked access to capital. The poor in Lima owned houses and land, but without a system of property rights that made clear who owned what, it was difficult to mortgage a house to start a business, or to sell it to a stranger who could trust that the seller was the owner.

These questions are particularly relevant in India where, according to the Reserve Bank, land and property are the single most important assets most Indian fami...