THE CHANGING FACES OF INDIA
“I’ll have them fly to India for gold,
Ransack the ocean for orient pearl.”
- Christopher Marlowe.
The early Europeans thought of India as the land with rivers of gold, a treasure trove of exotic spices, precious gems, and all the finer things of life. Following the arrival of Vasco da Gama on Indian soil, the riches of the country was exposed to the western world, what followed has been glorified in the musty pages of history. The year 1947 saw a much-deserved change in the fortunes of the Indian sub continent. India was liberated from the clutches of the British Raj. This however, left the subcontinent in tatters following a partition. It has taken five painful decades for India to recuperate from the blows suffered at the hands of the English. A number of wars fought; the increasing problem of cross-border terrorism between India and Pakistan and obviously the economic crisis faced by all under developing countries. Over the years, the country has rediscovered itself in many ways to survive in the intensely competitive scenario.
As we stand on the verge of the sixtieth anniversary of India’s independence, the country can boast of a large number of accolades, which has come its way. India is the largest democracy in the world; the second most populated country in the world and it is the seventh largest country in the world on account of area.
The Indian economy has grown in leaps and bounds over a span of 60 years, much of it coming post 1991, following the economic liberalization and globalization policies implemented by the then Finance Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the year 2005-06 has been recorded at a staggering 8.1%. The Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) crossed the landmark 10,000 points milestone in February 2006 and stands close to 13,500 points at present. India’s merchandise exports (in US dollar terms and customs basis) have been recording annual growth rates of more than 20% since 2002-03. In 2004-05 such exports grew to 26.2% to cross US$ 80 billion – this being the highest annual growth in the last 3 decades. Such exports are seen crossing US$ 125 billion in 2006-07. The fiscal deficit for the year 2007-08 has been measured to 3.3% of the GDP as compared to 3.7% in 2006-07. From April 2006 to January 2007, foreign direct investment is seen as US$ 12.5 billion. Such figures would bring a smile on the faces of the most pessimistic Indians. The graph of the Indian economy has certainly taken a turn for the better.
The growing number of acquisitions made by Indian entrepreneurs in the past decade can also trace India’s economic prosperity. A few are listed below: -
§ Wockhardt acquired the loss making Wallis laboratories of the United Kingdom (UK) in 1998 at US$ 8 million and turned it around in a year’s time into a profit making organization.
§ The Tata Group made a number of acquisitions namely, Tata Tea acquiring the UK tea brand, Tetley in 2000, the acquisition of US telecom network operator Tyco Global, the acquisition of Korean, Daewoo Commercial Vehicle in 2004, the acquisition of the Ritz Carlton Hotel of Boston, a strategic partnership with Fiat Motors in 2005 followed by an awe-inspiring acquisition of Corus by Tata Steel in 2007, making it the biggest foreign acquisition by an Indian company ever. This acquisition has helped Tat Steel become the world’s 6th largest steel manufacturer.
§ Lakshmi Niwas Mittal of Mittal Steel acquired Arcelor Steel in 2006 to become the world’s largest Steel manufacturer.
§ Videocon’s takeover of Daewoo Electronics is also ranked amongst the biggest foreign takeovers by an Indian company.
Indian’s can take pride in the fact that 3 of the world’s top 10 steel making firms are in Indian hands, Mittal Steel being undisputed leaders, followed by Arcelor Steel in second place and Tata Steel in 6th place. Tata Group was also enlisted by Forbes among the top 20 of the world’s most reputed companies in 2006. Dr. Vijay Mallya’s United Breweries Group is the 2nd largest spirits company in the world following a string of foreign acquisitions and strategic partnerships.
India has become a viable spot for many multinational companies with a booming economy mainly in the service sector post 2000. There has been the influx of multinational ‘giants’ like Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Mc Donald’s, Burger King, Subway, Pizza Hut, etc tending to the gastronomic delights of the growing Indian population. Swadeshi pundits can take pride from the fact that the stiffest competition to these ‘giants’ come from 500 bhel-puri hawkers, 5,000 dabbawalahs, 40,000 illiterate papad makers and a ubiquitous brand called ‘soda shikanji’. The Indian variants of cheap fast food are giving the multi million-dollar Fortune 500 companies a run for their money. As the battle rages between these two extremes of the social strata, the onlooker can just be pleasantly amused to see an illiterate group of fast food makers ‘rule the roost’ in the Indian fast food market. What more, they have made the multinational ‘giants’ dance to their traditional tunes with Mc Donald’s introducing “Mc Aloo Tikki’, Pepsico launching a ‘lemon flavored 7up’, ‘Lay’s Chaat Street’ chips and Pizza hut introducing ‘Tandoori Tikka Pizzas’ to catch up with the famous Indian delicacies. The times sure are changing! Gone are the days when the local companies were cowed down by the ‘much acclaimed’ marketing policies of the MNC’s.
After taking a careful look at the success of homegrown companies taking the largest slice of the consumer group, one cannot stop humming “Happy days are here again!!!” and rightly so. The face of India Inc. is changing for the better. Soon India will stand to claim a place among the elite group of ‘Developed Countries’.
But alls not well in India Inc., to highlight the negative developments, one does not require to dig deep, with the inflation rate being at a all time high ranging between 5.2 – 5.4 %, Political disturbances hitting the length and breadth of the country, specifically in West Bengal with the recent classes following the SEZ (Special Economic Zone) controversy surrounding Singur and Nandigram, ‘24 hour bandhs’ have become a monthly affair. The most prominent shortcoming of Indians can be taken from the field of sports, where the performances of Indian sports stars are fast dwindling. The last talent produced in the field of Hockey being Dhanraj Pillai, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupati in their mid thirties, making a valiant effort to preserve the face of Indian tennis (in spite of the fact that their chemistry marks are rather low these days!). And of course, the tragic fact that the highest accolade won was being ‘runners-up’ in the cricket world cup post 1983. in a country where cricket is a religion and cricketers are ‘demi-Gods’, a first round exit in the show-piece cricketing event can mean nothing short of a gross devaluation of the nation’s pride. Astonishingly, the Board of Cricket Control India (BCCI) is the richest cricket board in the world and contributes up to 75% of the revenues of the International Cricket Council (ICC)!
The face of India keeps changing leaving the world perplexed as India keeps rediscovering its strengths and weaknesses in different spheres of life. However, the great economic development and financial prosperity of modern India (owing to the booming Services sector) keeps hopes alive amongst the nation’s fast growing population. That seems enough for the ‘corrupt’ politicians to come out with glorifying slogans like “India Shining!” to capture the electorate every 5 years.
After all, we are a very special nation, which still values family, love and all things wonderful… So lets toast to the country to mysterious and so wonderful…
“Phir Bhi Dil Hain Hindustani!!!”
“I’ll have them fly to India for gold,
Ransack the ocean for orient pearl.”
- Christopher Marlowe.
The early Europeans thought of India as the land with rivers of gold, a treasure trove of exotic spices, precious gems, and all the finer things of life. Following the arrival of Vasco da Gama on Indian soil, the riches of the country was exposed to the western world, what followed has been glorified in the musty pages of history. The year 1947 saw a much-deserved change in the fortunes of the Indian sub continent. India was liberated from the clutches of the British Raj. This however, left the subcontinent in tatters following a partition. It has taken five painful decades for India to recuperate from the blows suffered at the hands of the English. A number of wars fought; the increasing problem of cross-border terrorism between India and Pakistan and obviously the economic crisis faced by all under developing countries. Over the years, the country has rediscovered itself in many ways to survive in the intensely competitive scenario.
As we stand on the verge of the sixtieth anniversary of India’s independence, the country can boast of a large number of accolades, which has come its way. India is the largest democracy in the world; the second most populated country in the world and it is the seventh largest country in the world on account of area.
The Indian economy has grown in leaps and bounds over a span of 60 years, much of it coming post 1991, following the economic liberalization and globalization policies implemented by the then Finance Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the year 2005-06 has been recorded at a staggering 8.1%. The Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) crossed the landmark 10,000 points milestone in February 2006 and stands close to 13,500 points at present. India’s merchandise exports (in US dollar terms and customs basis) have been recording annual growth rates of more than 20% since 2002-03. In 2004-05 such exports grew to 26.2% to cross US$ 80 billion – this being the highest annual growth in the last 3 decades. Such exports are seen crossing US$ 125 billion in 2006-07. The fiscal deficit for the year 2007-08 has been measured to 3.3% of the GDP as compared to 3.7% in 2006-07. From April 2006 to January 2007, foreign direct investment is seen as US$ 12.5 billion. Such figures would bring a smile on the faces of the most pessimistic Indians. The graph of the Indian economy has certainly taken a turn for the better.
The growing number of acquisitions made by Indian entrepreneurs in the past decade can also trace India’s economic prosperity. A few are listed below: -
§ Wockhardt acquired the loss making Wallis laboratories of the United Kingdom (UK) in 1998 at US$ 8 million and turned it around in a year’s time into a profit making organization.
§ The Tata Group made a number of acquisitions namely, Tata Tea acquiring the UK tea brand, Tetley in 2000, the acquisition of US telecom network operator Tyco Global, the acquisition of Korean, Daewoo Commercial Vehicle in 2004, the acquisition of the Ritz Carlton Hotel of Boston, a strategic partnership with Fiat Motors in 2005 followed by an awe-inspiring acquisition of Corus by Tata Steel in 2007, making it the biggest foreign acquisition by an Indian company ever. This acquisition has helped Tat Steel become the world’s 6th largest steel manufacturer.
§ Lakshmi Niwas Mittal of Mittal Steel acquired Arcelor Steel in 2006 to become the world’s largest Steel manufacturer.
§ Videocon’s takeover of Daewoo Electronics is also ranked amongst the biggest foreign takeovers by an Indian company.
Indian’s can take pride in the fact that 3 of the world’s top 10 steel making firms are in Indian hands, Mittal Steel being undisputed leaders, followed by Arcelor Steel in second place and Tata Steel in 6th place. Tata Group was also enlisted by Forbes among the top 20 of the world’s most reputed companies in 2006. Dr. Vijay Mallya’s United Breweries Group is the 2nd largest spirits company in the world following a string of foreign acquisitions and strategic partnerships.
India has become a viable spot for many multinational companies with a booming economy mainly in the service sector post 2000. There has been the influx of multinational ‘giants’ like Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Mc Donald’s, Burger King, Subway, Pizza Hut, etc tending to the gastronomic delights of the growing Indian population. Swadeshi pundits can take pride from the fact that the stiffest competition to these ‘giants’ come from 500 bhel-puri hawkers, 5,000 dabbawalahs, 40,000 illiterate papad makers and a ubiquitous brand called ‘soda shikanji’. The Indian variants of cheap fast food are giving the multi million-dollar Fortune 500 companies a run for their money. As the battle rages between these two extremes of the social strata, the onlooker can just be pleasantly amused to see an illiterate group of fast food makers ‘rule the roost’ in the Indian fast food market. What more, they have made the multinational ‘giants’ dance to their traditional tunes with Mc Donald’s introducing “Mc Aloo Tikki’, Pepsico launching a ‘lemon flavored 7up’, ‘Lay’s Chaat Street’ chips and Pizza hut introducing ‘Tandoori Tikka Pizzas’ to catch up with the famous Indian delicacies. The times sure are changing! Gone are the days when the local companies were cowed down by the ‘much acclaimed’ marketing policies of the MNC’s.
After taking a careful look at the success of homegrown companies taking the largest slice of the consumer group, one cannot stop humming “Happy days are here again!!!” and rightly so. The face of India Inc. is changing for the better. Soon India will stand to claim a place among the elite group of ‘Developed Countries’.
But alls not well in India Inc., to highlight the negative developments, one does not require to dig deep, with the inflation rate being at a all time high ranging between 5.2 – 5.4 %, Political disturbances hitting the length and breadth of the country, specifically in West Bengal with the recent classes following the SEZ (Special Economic Zone) controversy surrounding Singur and Nandigram, ‘24 hour bandhs’ have become a monthly affair. The most prominent shortcoming of Indians can be taken from the field of sports, where the performances of Indian sports stars are fast dwindling. The last talent produced in the field of Hockey being Dhanraj Pillai, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupati in their mid thirties, making a valiant effort to preserve the face of Indian tennis (in spite of the fact that their chemistry marks are rather low these days!). And of course, the tragic fact that the highest accolade won was being ‘runners-up’ in the cricket world cup post 1983. in a country where cricket is a religion and cricketers are ‘demi-Gods’, a first round exit in the show-piece cricketing event can mean nothing short of a gross devaluation of the nation’s pride. Astonishingly, the Board of Cricket Control India (BCCI) is the richest cricket board in the world and contributes up to 75% of the revenues of the International Cricket Council (ICC)!
The face of India keeps changing leaving the world perplexed as India keeps rediscovering its strengths and weaknesses in different spheres of life. However, the great economic development and financial prosperity of modern India (owing to the booming Services sector) keeps hopes alive amongst the nation’s fast growing population. That seems enough for the ‘corrupt’ politicians to come out with glorifying slogans like “India Shining!” to capture the electorate every 5 years.
After all, we are a very special nation, which still values family, love and all things wonderful… So lets toast to the country to mysterious and so wonderful…
“Phir Bhi Dil Hain Hindustani!!!”
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