Foraying into India’s mind

This is a compelling read for those who might be seriously contemplating entering the Indian market.
Foraying into India’s mind

India has been packaged in multiple ways, for multiple audiences, both domestic and foreign. From the India Shining campaign to the more recent Make in India call, there have been efforts to position the country as an attractive destination for tourism and business alike, while also building a sense of pride and belonging.

Even as we criticise the flatness of these descriptions, we would be hard put to come up with any concise and readily digestible version of the reality that is India that does justice to its complex history and diverse social and cultural fabric.

For those who wish to do business in India, to find a formula that can be applied to making sense of its regulatory frameworks (or absence thereof), political machinery, bureaucratic procedures, its resources, and formal and informal markets, it becomes a question of which slice to look at, and how. Bharat Joshi, in Navigating India: $18 Trillion Opportunity, undertakes the role of interlocutor for those who might be seriously contemplating entering the Indian market—as investors, collaborators, makers and sellers.
He sets out to explain—rather translate—the landscape of the Indian economy in all its complexity, in eight analytical chapters and three illustrative appendices.

Addressing himself primarily to the foreign investor, Joshi begins by laying out the “promise”, emphasising that: “In the brave new world, you ignore India at your own peril”. He then goes on to explicate the structure of the Indian economy and polity, with a focus on what it takes to “do business” at various levels, from obtaining approvals and licences to recruiting personnel to handling the larger social environment.

Drawing on Gurcharan Das’ truism that “India has law, China has order”, Joshi goes on to describe the context of relative “disorder” that Indian business deals occur within, touching on topics as wide ranging as graft (of course), caste, and religion. The book uses several recent examples of business success, and while the focus is mainly on the tech sector, there is reference to manufacturing and service as well.

One detailed case that provides insights on the nuanced nature of creating business success is that of Yatra.com, while the experience of Coca-Cola India demonstrates “how to thrive with a standardised product in a heterogeneous country.” Joshi does also look at some failures—Satyam being a notable example—but he sidesteps some of the more thorny issues.

While Joshi is not entirely uncritical, he seems to be mostly appreciative of the current government’s efforts to attract foreign investment. He presents a realistic (and suitably un-rosy) picture of what to look out for and how to handle potential problems when dealing with regulatory and licensing procedures, while also offering a number of positive cases that show that success can be achieved despite the “infinite imponderables”.

Navigating India is part of a growing genre of books that attempt to decode the local for the global investor/maker, while also serving in some manner to re-educate the local end of a potential partnership. No single book can be a complete guide to any country, particularly if one wants to engage seriously, but the reader won’t do too badly to begin with this one.

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The New Indian Express
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