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The Accidental Player: The EU and the Global Economy
Jean Pisani-Ferry, director of the European think-tank, Brugel, talked about the reasons for the EU's less than significant role in world economic affairs. At a recent lecture in New Delhi, Pisani-Ferry argued that the three Ds - disinterest, distraction and diversity - have led to a situation where the EU has not been able to fully leverage its true potentia in the global economic sphere. He asserted that in future EU would have to play a more assertive role if it wants to be an effective world power. ICFDC.com's Chacko Philip reports.[19 December 2005]
 Indian White Goods Sector's Big Challenge
The appliance manufacturing sector has benefited hugely from foreign investment. FDI has helped raise Indian manufacturing standards and improved product quality and productivity. But the Indian government as well as industry need to recognise the fact that Indian products and processes have to continuously move up the value chain if India is to enhance its global competitiveness, writes Rajeev Karwal, in this exclusive article for www.icfdc.com.[16 December 2005]
Indian Companies Go on a Global Acquisition Spree
The number of Indian companies that are investing abroad has been steadily growing ever since the Tata Group successfully acquired UK's Tetley Tea for $430 million four years ago. According to KPMG, Indian companies shelled out $1.7 billion in the first eight months of 2005 for acquiring 62 overseas companies. While the IT sector, banking and financial services and pharmaceutical companies have been the most active in M&A deals, increasingly other sectors too are getting in on the act.[26 November 2005]
India-EU Relations: Trade and Investment Trends
Trade between India and EU has been growing at a fast clip. EU exports to India grew by 17 per cent between 2003 and 2004 while Indian exports to the EU registered a 16 per cent growth. In 2004, export of Indian metals, stones and ganite, etc. recorded the highest growth of 55.6 per cent over 2003, while export of engineering goods grew by 22.1 per cent over 2003. Chemicals and minerals, with a 22.1 per cent growth rate, was also a major performer for Indian exports. [26 November 2005]
 Cracking the Rural Market in India
To a marketer, India's rural market presents a challenge like no other. While marketers salivate at the prospect of making their marketing millions in rural India, none has yet been able to understand what makes rural India tick. Harish Bijoor says that so far marketers have sought to thrust cornflakes and dog biscuits alike at rural Indians. He makes a plea to preserve the sanctity of Rural India and discover commerce and sense in it all - by creating brands that keep in mind rural imperatives. The rural market for brands is a powder keg of an opportunity waiting to be explored - not exploited![16 July 2005]
 Appliance Makers in India: Not Yet in the Comfort Zone
Sameer Dhar profiles the home appliance manufacturers in India and argues that despite their strengths, Indian players need to beef up their manufacturing facilities to enhance their global competitiveness. They have still not unleashed the true potential of the Indian market, nor have they succeeded in transform India into a production and export hub. [17 July 2005]
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EU-India Trade: On a Growth Curve
Trade between the EU and India is on the rise. The EU is India's largest trading partner accounting for 23.72 per cent of India's exports and 16.69 per cent of total Indian imports. ICFDC.com takes a look at how India-EU trade has grown. The EU is India's largest trading partner, accounting for 23.72 per cent of India's exports and 16.69 per cent of total Indian imports in the year 2004-05. Since 1991, trade between the EU and India has seen remarkable growth and this has been sustained in the 1990s and in the initial years of the new millennium.[6 July 2005]
 "The Simputer is not Merely a Do-Good Initiative; it has Economic Payoffs"
The Simputer, a computer that has been designed as an 'affordable computing device' for people who are not technologically-savvy, has generated widespread interest worldwide. The UNDP Report on Human Development (2001) described it as a 'technology with great promise for the developing countries' while the New York Times declared it the Biggest Innovation of 2001. An exclusive interview with PicoPeta Computers' CEO Swami Manohar by ICFDC.com's Adite Chatterjee.[15 June 2005]
 There is no reason why India and EU cannot form an FTA
The Europe-India Chamber of Commerce is a not-for-profit non-governmental organisation registered under the Belgian law, which serves as the key liaising organisation representing the views of enterprises and semi-business groups of India and Europe having business interest in each others’ countries. Secretary General Sunil Prasad talks about the key issues impacting India-EU business relations in an exclusive interview with ICFDC.com's Adite Chatterjee.[15 June 2005]
 FDI and the Indian Retail Industry
Piyush Kumar Sinha, professor and chairman, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, analyses the impact of opening up foreign direct investment in the Indian retail sector. The decision to allow FDI in the retail sector too has caused a lot of concenrn in the industry. However far from killing the small stores, FDI is likely to give the entire industry a boost.[6 May 2005]
Can Bollywood Go Global?
Spurred by the growth of the Indian economy, which has emerged as the fourth largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity, the Indian entertainment industry is expected to significantly benefit from this fast-paced economic growth. At the FICCI Frames 2005 held in Mumbai on 4-6 April 2005, the movers and shakers of the Indian entertainment sector congregated to discuss how the industry that produces the largest number of films can compete with Hollywood, that produces the biggest grossing movies. Adite Chatterjee reports.[7 April 2005]
FDI in India's Real Estate Sector: A Constructive Move
 With the Indian government substantially easing foreign direct investment norms (FDI) in the construction and real estate development sector, chances of the sector attracting big time foreign investment have improved dramatically. Earlier, foreign investments were allowed to a certain extent only in integrated townships. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has now decided to permit 100 per cent FDI in all types of housing, commercial premises, hotels, resorts, hospitals, educational institutions, recreational facilities, city and regional level infrastructure in a bid to attract higher foreign investment. [7 April 2005]
 Indian Animation Industry Comes of Age
Move over Mickey Mouse, Scooby Doo and Batman. Indian animation characters like Telani Raman, Tara Shroff and Chhota Birbal have begun to make their mark as India is poised to become the hot new destination for animation. According to NASSCOM Animation Report, the total global animation production market was valued at between US $16 and $35 billion in 2000, rising to $45 billion in 2002 and is estimated to touch $51.7 billion by end-2005. The report further mentions that the global entertainment market for animation production services was $37 billion in 2003. [17 January 2005]
 The Time has Come to Move from Words to Action" : EU Trade Commissioner
Peter Mandelson who took over as EU Trade Commissioner recently was in India to participate in the CII Patnership Summit in Kolkata. He also held discussions with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Commerce Minister Kamal Nath during his first visit to India. Mr. Mandelson spoke to www.icfdc.com's Dipanjan Ray Chaudhary in an exclusive interview. His theme was that time has come to move from words to action. Dramatic change is afoot. The face of international business, economic relations, and, increasingly too, global politics is changing fast.
 US, India Launch Power Reform Initiatives
The United States and India have taken several initiatives in the area of electricity power reforms. These included the launch of a $30-million, five-year initiative to expand bilateral cooperation on electric power distribution reform in India. The project will be undertaken by the government of India and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Distribution Reform, Upgrades and Management (DRUM) project. In his keynote address at the launch ceremony U.S. Ambassador David C. Mulford said: "We are partnering with the Government of India to demonstrate that commercially viable power utilities are key to meeting consumer needs and expanding supply."
 Globalisation and SMEs
What has been the impact of globalisation on small and medium sized enterprises? New Delhi-based Prastut Consulting conducted a study during the CII India Global Summit of SMEs held in November 2004, and found that more and more SMEs are preparing to go global. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are often hailed as being drivers of economic growth. Globalisation is characterised by an increase in cross-border strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and other types of business networking. This presents new international opportunities for SMEs. Cross-border business networking allows SMEs to expand their markets and distribution channels, realise economies of scale and scope in products and processes, and provides opportunities for sale and licensing of technology-based assets. [20 December 2004]
"India is at a key fork in the road to economic development"
Stephen Roach, Chief Economist, Morgan Stanley argues that India needs to leverage its success in the IT-enabled services sector and veer away from the manufacturing-led model of economic growth [1 November 2004]
India's Smaller Towns are Getting Richer
According to a new study by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), the country has 20,000 households in the super rich category - i.e. with annual incomes of Rs 10 million+. Of these, 5,085 families are located in the capital, New Delhi, while 4,439 are to be found in Mumbai. What comes as a surprise, though, is that many of the smaller towns like Nagpur, Surat, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Vadodara and Vijayawada have edged out metros like Kolkata and Chennai with their rising ranks of super rich households.
 The Big Outsourcing Scare: Facts and Myths
The hullabaloo over outsourcing and the loss of US jobs ignores the fact that offshoring is lowering costs for US companies and actually creating more jobs. Thanks to a more efficient economy, US shareholders are benefiting and their returns on investment are increasing. Forrester Research predicts that 3.3 million jobs will be lost in the US over a 15 year period, while 22 million new jobs are expected to be added in the US between now and 2010. D.V. Venkatagiri argues that the US economy has gained more than it has lost through outsourcing.[17 June 2005]
India as an Oustourcing Destination: A Comparative Analysis
For multinationals, outsourcing is a business imperative. According to a Forrester Research study, nearly half of all companies surveyed stated that they used offshore providers to avoid high labour costs in the US and Europe. And two-thirds planned to send work overseas this year. The trend is not just in the area of outsourcing software development work but business-specific back office processes. A recent paper by consultancy group AT Kearney discusses key attributes and characteristics of 11 countries - including India and China - to examine what makes them good or not-so-good candidates for offshoring business processing. While India continues to be an attractive destination for outsourcing projects, other nations are fast catching up, as countries continue to scout for the perfect BPO destination.[2 June 2005]
India, a Destination for Creative Outsourcing?
Indian advertising agencies debate the pros and cons of becoming 'creative suppliers' to global clients at a conference organised by ASSOCHAM. The IT and IT-enabled services have turned India into an outsourcing destination. Now, there is a move by other industries as well to leverage the country's outsourcing potential. One such sector is advertising. In 2004, advertising spends in Indian mass media grew at 22 per cent to reach the figure of Rs 13,500 crores (US $2967 million). Clearly, the industry has both the talent and the resources to emerge as a strong contender in the area of creative outsourcing. [28 April 2005]
The BPO Challenge: Sue, Sam and some issues at hand!
Marketing Consultant Harish Bijoor feels Four letter words are out of fashion. Three letter words are in. Three-letter words such as BPO and WTO attract a great degree of passion. Throw any of these words at consumers across the globe, and you have reaction that is passionately fizzy! Depending which side of the business you sit on, the fizz is negative or positive! At times both! [28 February 2005]
BPO: When Politics Overwhelmed Business
The BPO controversy has been raging for the past several months. In the run up to the US Presidential elections, the concern over American jobs being outsourced to India has even turned into a major political issue. But how valid are these fears and what does the future hold for Indian offshore IT services companies. An exclusive analysis from ICFDC.com. [1 November 2004] ]
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