India’s Time Is Now
The largest and youngest population in the world — check.
The fastest-growing major economy in the world — check.
The most innovative and exciting market in the world — check.
India is no longer the backward, slow, and stagnant place you may think — India is a growing, evolving, developing, innovating, exciting land of more than 1.5 billion young people.
India has evolved from its self-imposed exile to become a real presence on the global stage — the India of today is an exciting place to be. The India of the future is primed for outstanding success.
Welcome to the Indian juggernaut.
If you are a business owner and don’t have an India strategy, this is the time to create one. Despite its promise, India is a complex market to understand from the outside. To solve this, we have launched a service to help global organisations enter, invest, source, and outsource from India. More information at the end!
The India Growth Story — 1947 to 2024 to beyond
A Brief History of India post-1947
At the time of “independence” from the British in 1947, India was a poor, backward, disjointed, disunited, in-fighting, unstable land consisting mostly of princely states and rife with social issues.
The first task at hand was to create a federation to unite its disparate parts and design policies to uplift the masses from poverty. Indian policies centred on creating socialistic self-sufficiency and limiting imports to what was necessary.
However, this did not prove very effective. Nearly 45 years after gaining “independence”, India found itself facing an economic crisis: high fiscal deficit, double-digit inflation, and rising external debt.
The India between 1947–1991 was internally focused socialistic, non-aligned to global power struggles such as the Cold War, and not open to trade. The India post-1991 could not be more different.
How the times have changed
Although the India of today is still (mostly) non-aligned to global power struggles, it is a much different place than the 1947-India.
After opening up in 1991, more from the necessity of avoiding economic collapse than strategy, India has seen substantial changes. India’s economy has surged despite political and social challenges. India has seen:
- High GDP growth and increasing GDP per capita
- Decreasing Inflation
- Rising exports
- Decreasing poverty
As in the classic Hero’s Journey, India used its potential to catapult itself onto the world stage from the weakest point of its story.
1991 is when India was at its lowest. 1991 is also when the India growth story began when India embraced globalization, technology, and entrepreneurship to boost sectors like IT, services, and manufacturing.
Now, it would be incomplete to say there are no issues in India. Poverty, pollution and political issues are still rife. High inequality, an entrenched bureaucracy, and poor education make India a frustrating mess.
But to fixate on the issues is also wrong. India has done a great job of reducing its core issues and found solutions. India is pro-business and understands that many issues can only be solved with bottom-up incentives to uplift the masses as opposed to top-down handouts.
And it has worked!
India today has become a juggernaut to be reckoned with. A fast-growing economy, a young population hungry for growth and demanding the best, a highly skilled talent pool, increasing demand for the essentials, the refined, and the luxurious. India has it all.
India today is a haven for investment opportunities, an exciting market to tap into, a fantastic source of raw materials and finished products, and an excellent place to outsource work not just as a back-office cost-saving measure, but to develop high-quality products and services.
What lies ahead
India is fast developing into a young, vibrant, aspirational, talented land demanding the best, producing the best, and developing the best.
Yes, there are issues to solve but Indians are optimistic about solving them. Indians aspire to leave our issues behind and move forward.
Indians want to be the best and to make India the place where innovation can thrive. To grow, develop, and prosper and take India to the front and centre of the global stage.
In times of increasing global uncertainty, India may be the beacon of hope the world can turn to — as China, the US, the UK, and Europe fight their respective internal struggles, this is the time to shine for India.
With a large young population and increasingly pro-business policies, India will surge ahead on the global stage. India is expected to become the 3rd largest economy by 2030 and go strength-to-strength in the decades to come after that.
Nearly 77 years after the end of British rule, and 33 years after opening up, India is in a position to reclaim its former title of “The Golden Bird”.
India is rising.
When you are in India, you feel a sense of optimism walking in the streets, talking to the people, and watching people do business.
India’s growth is not in the dry reports, but in the live interactions you can only get on the ground.
This article marks the launch of a new venture: Going Big On India. The purpose of this venture is to showcase the potential that is in India and help global businesses enter, invest, source, and/or outsource from India.
For any product you may have, India has the market for it. For any new challenge you may want to take, India can make your solution cheaper, better, and more efficient. For any investment opportunities you seek, look no further than India.
The coming decades are India’s time to shine. What is your India strategy?
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Other sources:
[1]: https://www.macquarie.com/au/en/insights/all-eyes-turn-to-the-india-decade.html
[2]: https://www.investindia.gov.in
[3]: https://hbr.org/2023/09/is-india-the-worlds-next-great-economic-power
[4]: https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/IND
[5]: https://www.reuters.com/markets/western-firms-shift-investment-china-india-worries-mount-2023-09-13/
