Indians to get highest pay hike

Good news is around the corner for executives in India. So it would appear from the results of the latest survey by Hewitt. It says that the biggest pay hike in the Asia Pacific region in 2010 will be in India.

Filed under: Indian Economy, Trends , Executive Coaching, executive compensation

What Does India Mean To You?

What does India mean to you? No, not just to people who have visited here but the many others who have not. I read with interest a blog post by Kamini Banga in the Economic Times called ” Incredible India! And The Long Road Ahead”. Kamini is an expert in Marketing and Branding.

Filed under: Blogs, Indian Economy, Organisations , Indian cricket, Indian Economy, ISRO, Kamini Banga

” Must Read” Indian Blogs

I was recently informed by Jeff Behrendt of INForum.in that they have published their list of ” 15 Must Read Indian Blogs About Investing & Business “.

Filed under: Blogs, Indian Economy , blogging, people development

Stress and The Moving Target of Wealth

Like every other country in these exciting and demanding times, India too is changing and changing fast. But with economic prosperity comes the danger of burn out or working yourself to illness or worse still- death. A recent report from the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry in India ( ASSOCHAM)  says work related ailments like heart disease, strokes and diabetes will cost India as much as $ 160 billion between 2009 and 2015.

Filed under: Executive Coaching, Executive Health, Indian Economy , Career advice, Indian Economy, Stress

The Rs. 100,000 car

As disposable income increases, so do desires. The well to do youth of India could leapfrog from the thrill of “my first motor-bike ” today to that of “my first car” tomorrow.

Tata Motors is working towards introducing a sedan car for Rs 100,000 or Rs.1 lakh ( as the figure is popularly called in India), the equivalent of $ 2500. The story of the potential market for such a car is described in Time by Simon Robinson.

If Tata were to lure away even 10% of the 6.5 million Indians who buy motorbikes every year, it will have expanded India’s car market by more than half. Competitors aren’t willing to cede that kind of market share without a fight. Carlos Ghosn, head of Renault-Nissan, recently announced that his company was looking at building a $3,000 car in India. Fiat, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Maruti (the Indian division of Japanese manufacturer Suzuki), Toyota and Volkswagen are all developing low-cost cars, though none of them have promised anything quite as cheap as $3,000.

Apart from the potentially huge market in India itself, Tata Motors plans to export its economical car to other countries in Southeast Asia and Africa. With its affordability being a key advantage, the Chairman of the Tata Group, Ratan Tata hopes to eventually sell as many as 1 million such cars worldwide each year. Countries like Brazil and Russia could also be possible markets. The project is expected to succeed because of the relatively low manufacturing costs in India- engineering costs alone being estimated to be  half that of Europe or the US.

On the flip side, there may be a high environmental price to pay as poor nations convert from two wheels to four. John Rogers, a consultant for the Asian Development Bank, estimates that the number of cars in India will increase from 6.2 million in 2005 to 41.6 million by 2025.

The new car will offer a viable option for many in India who currently manage- albeit with difficulty- to take their entire family out on their two wheelers!

Filed under: Indian Economy , low priced car, Tata Motors

Indians Most Upbeat About Life

A recent issue of Business Today tells us that Indians are the most upbeat about life in the Asia region. Research from AXA Asia Life shows that 82 % of the “mass affluent” ( the top 25-35 % of the population) in India have neither started planning for, nor taken care of  their retirement needs. AXA Asia is part of the giant AXA Group.

It appears that for Indians the first priority was career, followed by health, family and retirement in  that order.

As many as 85 % of Indians surveyed were satisfied with their lives – the highest for any country in the region. The Philippines was next with 72 % followed by Indonesia at 47 %.

Another insight was that although 76 % of Indians were concerned about the rising costs in childrens’ education only 1 % had invested in education plans.

However, the survey size was not very big. It covered 2400 people aged between 25 and 50 years in 8 markets in Asia.

Filed under: Indian Economy , Indian Economy, retirement

India Inc shines in Intangible Assets

Here’s some more good news for Indian economy watchers. We can take pride in the fact that India has been ranked No. 3 in the world as far as intangible assets are concerned. An article in the Economic Times says that India emerges head and shoulders above all developed countries and blocs, barring the US and Switzerland.

In today’s knowledge-driven global marketplace, intangible assets such as intellectual property, brand, customer relationship and talent hold much more value than tangible ‘visible’ assets such as capital, land, building, factories et al.

India is No.3 economy in the world with the highest intangible component as a percentage of the total enterprise value (TEV), value of disclosed and undisclosed tangible and intangible assets.

With an estimated intangible assets component of 74% (as proportion of TEV), India is just behind US (75%) and Switzerland (74%), according to Global Intangible Tracker 2007 (GIT), the most extensive global study ever on intangibles assets by the London-based Brand Finance Institute.

The GIT study assumes significance in the wake of changes in the accounting practices, which means that the valuation of intangible assets is now a boardroom issue and cannot be ignored.

With a large portion of our economy being primarily based on intellectual capabilities, the challenge for the future will be our ability to deliver top quality services and solutions across different points in the value chain.

Filed under: Indian Economy , Indian Economy, intangible assets

Indian Entrepreneurs & Social Networking

Reuters has a blog post about recent cases of Indian entrepreneurs hitting it big through social networking sites such as DesiMartini and MingleBox .

Reliance Entertainment plans to invest US $100 million on its own social networking website BigAdda.com.

The blog post lists some facts why Indian Entrepreneurs and Venture Capitalists bet on social networking business models :

• 44% of the total number of Indians who logon to the internet use the social networking websites

• Out of that, Orkut which is owned by Google owns 64% of the social networking market share. It is estimated that Orkut has approximately 69 million users as per August 2007 estimates. Out of which, at least 16.9% Orkut users are from India.

• Nasscom in its 2007 report has estimated that the number of broadband subscribers, currently 1 Million, will hit 20 million users in the next 3 years and the number of internet users in India which is currently 40 million will rise to 100 million users by 2010

• According to our source, 54% of India’s population is under the age of 20 years which is nearly 540 Million people under 20 years of age

• India is known as the IT hub of the world

• India signs up more than 7 Million new telecom users each month. Indian telecom service providers such as Bharti, Vodafone, Essar, and Tata Teleservices are considering the proposition of adding social networking services to their user base

• According to a Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Report, the number of Indians using their mobiles to login to the internet has almost doubled last year from 16 million to 38 million just last year

• With a population of more than a billion people, India has become the golden pot for investors worldwide.

These are impressive numbers indeed and speak volumes of the potential business opportunities ahead for entrepreneurs in this space.

Filed under: Indian Economy , Entrepreneurs, Social networking

Paradox that is India

Reading today’s ” Times of India “underscores for me the paradox that is India. An item says that an apartment in Mumbai’s posh Nariman Point area was sold for Rs. 34 crore. The rate per square foot – an astonishing Rs. 97, 842 ! Just above, is another item which says that in 2005, the last year for which complete figures are available, there were as many as 312 suicides per day, one-third of them by women.

Robert Vadra is not subject to security frisking at India’s civil airports but the Chiefs of the defence services, the Army, the Navy and the Air Force are!! Robert Vadra is not the Supreme Chief of the Armed Forces. He happens to be the son-in-law of Congress Chief, Sonia Gandhi.

We have some the brightest people as well as some of the most primitive social systems. We enjoy the benefits of democracy with some of the worst violations taking place under the guise of democratic norms. In some aspects we are more Leftist than Communist China. We are proud of our past and yet do not learn lessons from it.

This is the paradox that it India. As many would say in India ” We are like that only”!

Filed under: Indian Economy, Trends , India, Nariman Point, Robert Vadra

K V Kamath’s prediction

Expect a gain of Re. 1 per year against the $ said K V Kamath, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, ICICI Bank.

He said the Indian currency would continue to appreciate further in future. “If I were in company management, I would allow at least Rs 2 per year or Re 1 a year strengthening,” he told corporates and industry representatives, implying that companies should be prepared for a Re 1 rise in the Indian unit against the dollar per year. The rupee has risen 13.7 per cent over a year.

Speaking at a manufacturing summit organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, Kamath said the manufacturing sector, which clocked a growth rate of 12.5 per cent in 2006-07, is a star.

“Financial capital in not a challenge anymore as our markets are strong. What we are facing is the severe dearth of talented human capital and hence we need to enter into tie-ups with universities and customise programmes to suit the industry’s requirements.”said Mr. Kamath.

Filed under: Indian Economy , K V Kamath, Rupee appreciation