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`Presence in India is a must for globalising companies`
Washington, Oct 29: If US companies decide toembrace globalization, they would need a presence in Indiawhich offers an inexhaustible pool of educated and cheapworkforce, says a TV documentary that interviewed severalbusiness people and experts.
Washington, Oct 29: If US companies decide to
embrace globalization, they would need a presence in India
which offers an inexhaustible pool of educated and cheap
workforce, says a TV documentary that interviewed several
business people and experts.
"There are some sights on India`s commercial
landscape that`ll make any American feel right at home," says
a TV channel.
Lehman brothers, Goldman Sachs, Electronic Data Systems, and Microsoft all have recently announced that they are investing in India, joining the rush to take advantage of cheaper costs and an educated workforce.
Financial powerhouse Citigroup was one of the first US companies to see the business potential in India.
"I think from an international perspective for Citigroup, India is important from a bottom line point of view, and will become even bigger as you go ahead," says Sanjay Nayar, Citigroup India`s Chief Executive. With more than 1 billion people and a middle class larger than the population of the US, India is a market no global company can ignore, the documentary suggests.
"It has grown by a Brazil in the last 10 years, and will grow by another Brazil in this decade," says Richard Celeste, former US ambassador to India.
Early business pioneers often found rough going in India. Sanitation, water and roads -- bad enough today -- used to be deplorable. Indian markets were strangled with red tape and protectionism. To a great extent, they still are.
But recent reforms have opened up more opportunities to make money. When India finally let foreign banks open their doors to Indian consumers in the late 1980s, Citigroup was ready.
"We were really the first serious player in the credit card market," says Sarvesh Sarup of Citibank consumer services. "When we entered the industry, there were 300,000 cards. Now there are in excess of 7 million." General Electric has the largest foreign presence in India. "Right now every one of our manufacturing businesses has a significant engineering operation here," says Scott Bayman, GE India`s CEO.
Like Citigroup, GE makes money in India in several ways. It sells products and services. It employs people to do white-collar and back-office work. GE has 22,000 employees in India doing research, manufacturing, running call centers and developing software. They generate roughly 1 billion dollars of revenue annually.
"There isn`t a better destination, frankly, than India just because of scale of population and availability of employees," says Pramod Bhasin of GE India. Still, presence and history alone don`t guarantee success in India. Problems such as a third world transportation system, a multitude of languages, four-wheeled and four-legged traffic, and even the climate, often intervene.
Just ask Nestle. The Swiss food giant has been in India for 90 years, with six manufacturing plants, 3,500 employees and almost 500 million dollars in sales in 2002. Bureau Report
Lehman brothers, Goldman Sachs, Electronic Data Systems, and Microsoft all have recently announced that they are investing in India, joining the rush to take advantage of cheaper costs and an educated workforce.
Financial powerhouse Citigroup was one of the first US companies to see the business potential in India.
"I think from an international perspective for Citigroup, India is important from a bottom line point of view, and will become even bigger as you go ahead," says Sanjay Nayar, Citigroup India`s Chief Executive. With more than 1 billion people and a middle class larger than the population of the US, India is a market no global company can ignore, the documentary suggests.
"It has grown by a Brazil in the last 10 years, and will grow by another Brazil in this decade," says Richard Celeste, former US ambassador to India.
Early business pioneers often found rough going in India. Sanitation, water and roads -- bad enough today -- used to be deplorable. Indian markets were strangled with red tape and protectionism. To a great extent, they still are.
But recent reforms have opened up more opportunities to make money. When India finally let foreign banks open their doors to Indian consumers in the late 1980s, Citigroup was ready.
"We were really the first serious player in the credit card market," says Sarvesh Sarup of Citibank consumer services. "When we entered the industry, there were 300,000 cards. Now there are in excess of 7 million." General Electric has the largest foreign presence in India. "Right now every one of our manufacturing businesses has a significant engineering operation here," says Scott Bayman, GE India`s CEO.
Like Citigroup, GE makes money in India in several ways. It sells products and services. It employs people to do white-collar and back-office work. GE has 22,000 employees in India doing research, manufacturing, running call centers and developing software. They generate roughly 1 billion dollars of revenue annually.
"There isn`t a better destination, frankly, than India just because of scale of population and availability of employees," says Pramod Bhasin of GE India. Still, presence and history alone don`t guarantee success in India. Problems such as a third world transportation system, a multitude of languages, four-wheeled and four-legged traffic, and even the climate, often intervene.
Just ask Nestle. The Swiss food giant has been in India for 90 years, with six manufacturing plants, 3,500 employees and almost 500 million dollars in sales in 2002. Bureau Report