60 years since independence, India has emerged as a force to be reckoned with globally. Liberalisation is the magic wand that has helped transform the perception of India from pumpkin to stage coach. The Indian industry played a great role in making the spell work and got India shining. India today is, paradoxical as it may seem, older but replete with a young workforce and wiser yet trying hard to catch up. India comes across as a land of contradictions and the world is watching, with keen interest. At this juncture, an outside – in perspective of the older and wiser India drives home some truths that we need to acknowledge.
Now is India’s Time:
“The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index ranks India 43rd, well ahead of Brazil at 66, China at 54 and Russia at 62. India is the only one of the four that improved its ranking. The other three actually slipped.
Over the last four years, 12 Indian companies won Japan’s coveted Deming awards for managerial innovation, more than any other country, including Japan.”
Pumpkin to stagecoach - India’s transformation
According to Scott Bayman*, four big events brought about the Indian metamorphosis:
First, the telecom revolution that made Indian telecom the poster child for privatisation and deregulation. Cell phones are common, even in villages where landlines still do not exist. Between 2000 and 2005, India added about 18 million fixed phone lines and nearly 73 million mobile connections. Tele-density grew more than three-fold to 11.5 percent; in urban areas, to almost 35 percent. Waiting lines for phone connections have ceased to exist. Indian telecom approaches world-class standards.
The second big event is the creation of a new class of consumers driven by the emergence and growth of software, backroom processing, technology and financial services industries. Employees in these industries are highly educated and relatively younger, earn a good wage and have a propensity to spend.
The third big event is that Indian industrialists have gained confidence that they can compete on the global stage. Indian industrialists no longer worry about multinational companies; they are or want to be MNCs. They argue for open markets, free trade and view the globe as their marketplace. Indian companies now think globally. The total value of takeover deals by Indian companies, which was less than $1 billion in 2000, rose to $8 billion in 2006. There have been 72 foreign takeovers by Indian companies, worth $24.4 bn in the first four months of this year, according to the advisory firm Grant Thornton.
In the same period, there were 38 foreign deals for Indian companies, worth $17 bn. Indian companies now possess the ingredients to be successful in global markets. Global trends also favour India, as more companies in the US, Japan and Europe outsource manufacturing to lower costs. In addition to auto parts, telecom equipment and pharmaceuticals, India has the potential to be competitive in such skill-intensive industries as fabricated metal products, high-end chemicals, consumer electronics and computer hardware. The rise of manufacturing could have a profound effect for a vast number of India’s poor. The fourth big event is Civil Aviation. Today, India has some of the best domestic airlines in the world. Today, we are experiencing the benefits of open skies agreements with increased non-stop flights from more Indian cities to more cities around the world. Choice has brought competition and the consumer is benefiting. But what about the airports? Says Scott, “watch the impact of public-private partnership go to work. This is India.
We wait for the demand, for the crisis before we respond. Once we strike out on a course of action, we know how to get it done.”
“Indians should stop beating themselves up so much and be proud of what has been accomplished.”
Scott Bayman’s lessons in his 14 years in India
India is a confusing and difficult place to quickly enact change and make rapid progress.
Consider: India is a 5,000 year old ancient civilisation. It has 18 official languages, with 325 spoken languages and 1,652 dialects. There are 1.3 billion people living in a land one-third the size of the US.
There are 5600 daily newspapers, 15,000 weeklies and 20,000 periodicals published in 21 languages with a combined circulation of 142 million.
Moreover, as those of you who read some of them know, each has a very strong bias on every issue.India is the world’s largest democracy with a parliamentary form of Government. That’s the good news.
The bad news is, it makes taking tough decisions very difficult. However, I would never ever trade it for the alternative.
“I argue the glass is half-full and filling; not half-empty and running out.”
*Scott Bayman, former president and CEO of GE India, spoke at The Paul H Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) as part of the W P Carey Global Leader Lecture series on April 12, 2007 about “Fourteen Years on the Inside: A Perspective on India.” Excerpts and ideas from the lecture transcribed from the website-www.sais-jhu.edu are presented above.
The younger generation who are now the future of India have some defi nite views on the way forward. The Tata Group organised the Tata Building India Essay Competition, a national essay competition across 6 major cities of India in over 240 English medium schools.
The entries brought forth progressive ideas and suggestions from school children. Young India’s priorities centre around removing illiteracy and corruption, providing jobs, fair justice to all, focus on rural India, conservation of natural resources and a clear mission statement to take the country forward.
* Excerpts from three winning entries at the national level:
“My vision would be to make India a super power, both in economic and military terms.
Key Result Areas:To eradicate illiteracy because I am convinced that if this is achieved then many other things will fall in place.
Infrastructure: excellent infrastructure, powerful energy producing plants, wide roads, free economic zones and working towards a rupee that is as stable in the basket of currencies as the Japanese yen.
If made the PM of India, I will take it forward by a hundred years and ensure that for us Indians, winning becomes a habit.”
-- Tanushri Bhandari, Senior level national winner.
“What would I do as the PM of India? First of all, I would try to induct only honest and dedicated ministers in my cabinet. I would appoint ministers in charge of various ministries according to their educational qualifi cations, aptitude and ability.
Industries would also be given impetus. Suffi cient funds and facilities would be made available for new and old industries.The export and import policies would also have to be reviewed so that the maximum benefi t is given to industrialists for the benefi t of the nation.”
--Farha Khannam, Middle level national runner up.
‘If I were the Prime Minister of India what would I do to make India a super power by 2020?’ “Job opportunities have always been a problem faced by the youth and various talented people, which force them to go abroad and serve other nations rather than serving their own, therefore I will fi rst survey and then analyse the root cause and then gradually work upon it so that their talent does not go waste. People should learn to respect their own culture first and have harmony among themselves to promote unity.”
--Madhurima Mukherjee, Middle level national winner
* Excerpts from Tata Building India Essay Competition, printed with permission from Tata Sons Ltd.