'India Everywhere' in the Alps By MARK LANDLER, The New York Times, January 26, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/26/business/worldbusiness/26india.html?emc=eta1 DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 25 - Delhi swept into Davos on Wednesday, with an extravagant public relations campaign by India intended to promote the country as the world's next economic superstar, and as a democratic alternative to China for the affections of foreign investors. There were few places one could go, on this first day of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting here, without seeing, hearing, drinking, or tasting something Indian. The organizers call the campaign "India Everywhere" and they appear to mean it literally. "The last two years, we felt there was too much about China, and India wasn't being heard," said Ajay Khanna, the chief executive of the India Brand Equity Foundation, which is orchestrating the promotion. "This year, we decided to make a major effort to give India a voice." There is little danger of India's being drowned out, with a 150-member delegation, including 3 cabinet ministers and 41 chief executives. Mr. Khanna estimated the total cost of the campaign and the travel expenses at $5 million. Never before, officials of the forum said, has a country mounted such an elaborate charm offensive at Davos. "We're going to showcase the arrival of the global Indian entrepreneur," said Nandan M. Nilekani, the chief executive of Infosys Technologies, which grew to $2 billion in sales in 2005 from $120 million in 1999 and has come to symbolize India's vaulting ambitions. The question is whether India's unspoken message - that it is another China - is credible. After all, China still grows faster than India, has attracted 10 times the foreign direct investment and has built a gleaming network of airports and highways that make India look ramshackle. "There are a number of areas where people gloss over India's challenges," said Jim O'Neill, the head of global economic research at Goldman Sachs, citing India's inadequate education system and barriers to foreign ownership of Indian assets as significant weaknesses. "It's starting to be tricky to find skilled workers there," Mr. O'Neill said. "India is also a very closed economy." Goldman contributed to the euphoria about India, by projecting that its economy could be 50 times its current size by 2050, which would make it the world's third largest, after China and the United States. But Mr. O'Neill said that when he ranked countries by the potential risks to their growth - everything from inflation to corruption - India ranked 97th in the world, behind Brazil and the Philippines. Indian entrepreneurs concede their country has problems. Social tensions from mass migration and the fragility of the current government could disrupt development. Roads and airports remain woeful, and construction projects are often snarled in bureaucracy. "If you want to make Barbie dolls, don't come to India," said Anand G. Mahindra, the head of one of India's largest conglomerates. "Because if you order one million of them, they'll probably be held up in traffic from Mumbai to the port," he said, using the post-colonial name for Bombay. Still, India is beginning to enjoy China-like growth, expanding 8.1 percent from April to June 2005. Its gross domestic product will expand by an average of 6.1 percent a year from 2005 to 2010, according to Goldman. Advertisements on buses here promote India as the world's "fastest-growing free-market democracy" - a not-so-subtle reference to China, which has done little to relax the grip of the Communist Party over society. India, by contrast, is a clamorous democracy, with 675 million eligible voters. "Democracy is a big advantage for us," said Malvinder M. Singh, the president of Ranbaxy Laboratories, India's top drug company. "It is not the only advantage, but it is definitely one big advantage." Mr. Singh, a 33-year-old with an M.B.A. from Duke University, said India's strength in chemistry had given its pharmaceutical industry an edge over that of China. While Chinese companies focus on raw materials, he said, Ranbaxy produces generic drugs and plans to expand its proprietary products. Despite the constant comparisons to China, most Indians insist the two are not competing, and can both prosper. "I call it Chindia," joked Nikhil Meswani, the executive director of Reliance Industries. With companies like Reliance, Ranbaxy and Infosys already global competitors, experts say India's further development will hinge largely on whether the government can loosen up the labor market, build decent roads and airports, and knock down hurdles to foreign investment. India, for example, still prohibits Wal-Mart and Carrefour, Europe's largest retailer, from opening stores in the country. But this week, it announced that it would allow single-brand merchants, like Tommy Hilfiger, to open shops. "I'm sure people in the government wanted it to be done in time for Davos," said Montek S. Ahluwalia, the deputy chairman of the Indian Planning Commission, "but it wasn't done for Davos." India has left little else to chance in its courting of people here. It has organized daily news conferences and happy hours, as well as an art exhibit. For the gala ball, which will have an Indian theme, it is flying in chefs from 14 Taj luxury hotels to whip up Indian cuisine. In their hotel rooms on Wednesday, participants found tiny iPods with Indian music recorded on them, and Pashmina stoles, described as a "gift from the Himalayas to keep you warm in the Alps." Mr. Nilekani said he hoped the campaign would polish India's image and attract tourists, as well as some foreign investment. At a cost of $5 million, he noted, "we get a lot of bang for our buck." ____________________________________________ -- This is ZESTGlobal. Post articles on international affairs to [email protected] If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTGlobal by sending a blank mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTGlobal/join/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTGlobal/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
