India's Economy

Discussion in 'Economics' started by deepcsuf, Jan 12, 2006.

  1. deepcsuf

    deepcsuf

    Yeah i think that common last name is PATEL...its as common as Johnson
     
    #11     Jan 14, 2006
  2. That just can't be right. Can you post a source for that?

    This is what I get from CIA:

    0-14 years: 31.2% (male 173,634,432/female 163,932,475)
    15-64 years: 63.9% (male 356,932,082/female 333,283,590)
    65 years and over: 4.9% (male 26,542,025/female 25,939,784) (2005 est.)

    But it doesn't prove or disprove 70% is under 30. That just seems a big stretch.
     
    #12     Jan 17, 2006
  3. There is a lot of out dated information about India in general.
    India's economy is growing by double digits to say the least.
    Some parts it has grown 10 to 100 folds !!!!
    The real estate and construction industry has boomed in the past 4 years. Some places the real estate has grown 100 folds during this period and it just reminds me of the dot com mania.

    I was born and raised in India but now I m settled in USA.
    I can tell you from my personal experience that India has moved into a new status in terms of economics and social status in the world. Just look at the mobile industry growth over there, every one owns at least a cell phone and anyone with some regular income can get a loan to buy a car and house ! These basic things were unthinkable just 5 years ago for anyone . Mobile industry is definitely growing at an exponential rate and US is far behind in this compared to India and ofcourse the Japan and S. Koreans.
    Also, India produces movies at a rate of 20-30 a day if not more !!! Its going to be a matter of time when you see Indian cinema entering world market and giving Hollywood run for its money. There is some serious readjustment going on here with the studios trying to break into indian cinema which is still controlled by individuals.

    Ofcourse, India still has all the probelms of Over population and poverty but that is not stopping them from progress.
    The caste system is there but its on the way out, now a days no one gives a damn about it and its very common for people to get marries inter-caste, inter-religion etc., etc.,

    The big risk as I see is the political situation could change on a dime. Fundamentally, India is a country with so many different cultures and religions and races its a mini world. To rule it with one party is always challenging and this will always create unstable situations as the current government is made with partners. This problem could exist for sometime I gues this is the risk everyone is taking.

    India is still struggling to cope up with its phenomenal growth and they are working very hard to keep up. Some of the things westerners complain about are addressed for example :
    - No world class international airports
    - Roads are bad
    - Hotels are being built and upgraded

    Sorry, I could keep writing a lot as I m very much invested in India but I have to go. May be I will write more later.

    Bottom Line : By 2030 India is in the Top 3 of the world economies....!!!!

    Best,
    - Zero
     
    #13     Jan 18, 2006
  4. Zero,

    Very interested to hear more from someone who has direct attachment to India.

    Who are your main trade partners when it comes to building/improving infrastructure i.e. where do all your materials come from. South Africa, Australia?????

    Also, from what I have seen, India offers a highly educated/skilled services workforce which I know the UK has already pounced on. What other countries are outsourcing their programming/support services in India?

    IMHO I agree that India has a superb future but, like you say, it appears that there a vast array of cultural differences within the country as a whole and the western world (ignorantly or not) will remain fearful, to a certain extent, about doing a large amount of high-end business with a Muslim population. Any corruption/violence/terrorism would be pounced upon by western media that thrive upon painting one side of the story and continue to perpetuate the fear rather tha address the differences.

    I don't want this to turn into a political discussion by the way!
     
    #14     Jan 18, 2006
  5. OK Lets clear-up something here....India is not a muslim country
    that is pakistan (which used to be part of India before the british left)
    Also, its not dotheads all the way..there is a good mix of Hindus (~70%) muslims (~25%) and the rest christians and other minorities.

    Just check out forbes list of richest people and you will know whats happening in India...there are more in the list than you can imagine a third world dotheads!!! LOL at the ignorant poster.

    Anyway, my intention is not to make this political at all but just to share and give my point of view.

    India is moving into the next phase of growth and if you just think that India is just a service provider then you need to pay attention. The services sector still is a major chunk of the indian economy but the landscape is changing faster than you would think.

    There is a whole sleigh of new industries booming and VC's are throwing money for start-ups like never before.
    Some of the industires in the second leg are :
    - Mobile, this is growing at a phenomenal rate....! Much cheaper to own a phone and make mobile calls than in US.....US is far far behind in this.
    - Medical Tourism/Hopspitality, Ask any Canadian or UK about the free state medical care they are getting from their govt , people are tiered of waiting for their turn to get some procedure done and they are turning to Indian doctors to get the medical procedures done at a much cheaper rate and much better qualified docs with American standard medical facilities at a cost which is 1/3 - 1/4 . If US didn;t have the insurance / legal lobbyist there woulda been a big chunk of US patients going to India anyway!!! But, dont be thinking that it wont happen...there is already some deals happening/inthe works with the insurance companies to work out deals where if the patient gets treated in India they would get reimbursed. This will happen sooner than you think..!
    - Legal outsouring...this is already happening, with law firms sending their work to indian lawyers.
    - software developemnt (not just some less important back office support)...Why do you think Bill Gates is releasing his software in India???? Hellooooo!!!!
    - financial services (you get MBA's from IIM which are better than many of the ivy leagues and giving you much better reports etc., etc.,)...check out what Mckinsey is doing

    - a bunch of other industries I have no idea about :)

    Now lets be clear here...if you look at India as a whole that means if you include the entire 1billion plus population then the progress they have made is not good enough and they are still a third world country.

    But, thats not the point here. There are islands of growth which are infact better than US and any western europe. They figured out a way I guess. These islands have all the american and japanese automobiles, high speed internet and Wi-FI hotspots, night clubs, vintage wines, malls/commerce areas, 24/7 cable, international connectivity , russian and east-european whores for the rich indian business man with lots of cash to throw around ;-) etc.,etc.,

    and some of these islands have real-estate price tag of 200-500 US $/sq.ft !!!!!!!!!!!!

    All I would say is PAY ATTENTION and make money.

    If you have seen Back to the Future movie, where Biff has a magazine from future and he invests in all the good companies and becomes a very rich guy...you could do that with investing in India ;-)

    Best,
    - Zero
     
    #15     Jan 20, 2006
  6. vinrouge

    vinrouge

    i would say both china & india will dominate the world's if not asia's economy in coming decades.

    I keep on holding chinese shs and indian funds.

    p.s. i share Zero's point of view.
     
    #16     Jan 27, 2006
  7. Banjo

    Banjo

    For those interested this is an informative site, one of the few I keep up with . There are many points of view here, pay attention to the Indian and China articles for an excellent macro picture. There is a lot going on out there that will have enormous economic impact.

    http://www.atimes.com./
     
    #17     Jan 27, 2006
  8. That means that india is reproducing like the rabbits.
     
    #18     Jan 29, 2006
  9. AP
    India, Darling of Davos, Seeks Investment
    Sunday January 29, 6:25 am ET
    By Edith M. Lederer, Associated Press Writer
    India Is Questioned by Corporate Heavyweights as It Seeks New Investment at World Economic Forum


    DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) -- Dell Inc. founder Michael Dell asked about manufacturing semiconductors. Nestle SA CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe raised the problem of water supplies in rural areas.
    India was the darling of the World Economic Forum this year as it sought new investment. In the hot seat at Saturday's breakfast were key Indian policymakers, who came to the annual gathering with the country's top business executives for the first time to promote the nation's rising economic star.India's booming economy is growing at about 7 percent annually, and Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram told a VIP audience of the world's business leaders that the government was aiming for growth of 8 percent to 10 percent.

    Yogesh Deveshwar, president of the Confederation of Indian Industry and chairman of ITC Ltd., said economic reforms have unshackled "Indian entrepreneurship" and the country is embarking on an effort to develop the rural areas where three-quarters of its 1 billion people live.

    Besides the potential rural market, India "can actually be a food basket for the world," he said.

    Dell, whose company is the world's largest direct seller of computers, noted that electric power and gasoline fueled the industrial age, "but in the information age, the fuel, at least in a hardware sense, is semiconductors."

    Dell asked if India -- which has a large and growing information technology base -- was thinking about investments in producing the key component of personal electronics from computers to cell phones.

    "If you look at the countries that have pursued this -- Taiwan, Singapore, Ireland and now, of course, China -- there's been a concerted government industrial policy to essentially create this new industrial machinery," he said.

    Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said semiconductor manufacturing "is really the kind of manufacturing which we want ... because we believe that one job created in manufacturing generates three jobs in services."

    He invited Dell to provide input to a group developing a policy "which gives a quantum jump in this for the next five years."

    Chidambaram, the finance minister, said "we must move quickly" to establish facilities that assemble, test and make computers and other IT products, and one or two will begin work this year.

    Dell interjected: "I'm not talking so much about the assembly and the packaging. I'm talking about the fabrication -- the foundry which is really a very significant investment, and is really needed for manufacturing to flourish in a significant way."

    Nath said India's impression was that assembly, testing and production would come first, "but if you could lead the way to set up a fabrication first, we'd be very happy."

    Brabeck-Letmathe, chairman and chief executive officer of the world's leading food company, said Nestle has been working in rural India for many years, and he welcomed the rural economy becoming a top priority. However, he said the lack of adequate water supply posed a problem.

    Montek Singh Ahluwailia, India's deputy planning minister, said the government was addressing the problem by focusing on better conservation and locating new wells.

    Golf course designer Robert Trent Jones wanted to know about ending the fighting in Kashmir and promoting more tourism there. He said he had just helped design a course in the disputed Kashmir region, which India and Pakistan have fought two wars over.

    He asked whether there was any hope for settling the nearly 60-year conflict that would spur tourism to a beautiful region.

    "The government of India is committed to resolving the issue between India and Pakistan," Chidambaram said.

    A record 3.9 million tourists visited India last year, an increase of about 25 percent, and some went to Kashmir despite the conflict.

    "But if peace returns, obviously the number of tourists will multiply," Chidambaram said.

    "What we really need to do is take this peace process forward," said Nath, the commerce minister. "We really need to address the issue of terrorism, and the world and all of you sitting here need to address the issue of the nurseries of terrorism."
     
    #19     Jan 29, 2006
  10. Beachfront condos are reasonable compared to more developed coutries and Dell announced a new plant there , hiring around 5000 people. I like watching development unfold- hopefully adds balance to more of the world.
     
    #20     Jan 30, 2006