Country Analysis of India

Country Country Analysis of India

India is a diverse country that includes an assortment of cultures, religions, races and languages. Coupled with its historical continuity dating back thousands of years. To date, their cultural heritage and social structure remains intact. Communication with others is based on respect for history. Understanding the rich traditions is essential for business success. 

Geographic Overview

Formally known as the Republic of India. The country is housed on the southeastern portion of the Asian continent. India has multiple natural geographic spectacles including mountain ranges, rivers, valleys, shores, dessert, and flatlands. Being one of the top ten largest countries in the world, broken into four regions, “it covers a total area of 3,287,263 sq km with a shoreline extending 7,517 km” (Maps of India, 2019). The land is wealthy in natural resources the most plentiful being; coal, iron ore, manganese ore, bauxite, chromite, natural gas, and diamonds.

Demographic Overview

Encompassing over 1.3 billion people, the population is growing at a rapid rate. On average there are nineteen births and only seven deaths per thousand. The population is nearly growing at a two to one rate. As the population increases as does the average life expectancy currently between sixty-two and sixty-five years. There is diversity within the population featured in language, social structure, religion, and culture. Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity are the top practiced religions followed by Buddhism and Jainism. There are more that fifteen major languages in India. The most prominent official language that is spoken by the majority of the population is Hindi with English being a close second. The diverse population is a facilitating factor for business that encourages communication and success.

Governmental and Political Overview

India is a “parliamentary democratic republic where the President of India is the Head of State and the Prime Minister of India is responsible for running the federal government” (Pariona, 2017). Maintaining its voting electoral democracy, India is divided into twenty-nine states and seven territories. The current President of India is Ram Nath Kovind, who also serves as the Head of State. The current Prime Minister is Narendra Modi, who also serves as the Chief Executive for the Executive branch. Similar to the United States, India has a three branch governmental system to include the legislative, the executive, and the judicial branches. In this case the legislative branch is accountable for the executive branch. The added inclusion of a Prime Minister the idea is to further assure checks and balances within the branches. India also has an inclusive multi-party political system containing three party types; national parties, state recognized party, and registered unrecognized parties. Categorized within these three main types there are thousands of individual political parties. The sectored political system in India allows the government to take a large role in mitigating business risks. There are laws and regulations in favor of businesses. The political process contributes to success more than failure.

Economic Overview

 India has one of the largest economies in the world characterized by a significant percent growth per year. The economy is backed by a gross domestic product approximated at two and half trillion dollars and a gross national income approximated at nine and a quarter trillion dollars. The monetary system is measured in Rupees. The current currency exchange rate per United States dollar is seventy-one Rupees. There is a high cost differentiation on imports and exports due to the variation in exchange. India has many memberships to trade organizations including; World Trade Organization, World Customs Organization, and World Federation of Trade unions. The main exports total three hundred billion dollars and include; agriculture, textiles, precious stones, and technology. The main imports total four hundred and fifty billion dollars and include; agriculture, oils, fuels, mined metals, and various manufactured products. The majority of imports and exports are traded to and from the; European Union, Untied States, United Arab Emirates, China, and Saudi Arabia.

Problems

Inflation has increased and expanded existing problems within the country. Specifically, in rising costs for basic needs such as food and manufactured products. Additional problems plaguing the population include; poverty, infrastructure, communications, and healthcare. The lack of infrastructure in the of areas outside the major cities like Mumbai, create problems with access to food, clean water, and shelter. Dirt roads and poorly organized wires make communication and travel difficult. These areas have high rates of poverty. Though the poverty struggle does not stop at rural areas, it has started to extend into urban areas as well.

India may have the best healthcare provided by the private sector, as a majority of medical professionals are staffed in this way, but for the “600 million rural and urban poor, quality, affordable healthcare is beyond their reach as they are spending nearly seventy percent of their total income for it” (Lott, 2011). Health care is in high demand and dependent upon location and need but in low supply.

Business Risk

Going global requires an intimate awareness of literacy in other country’s cultures, business practices, laws, regulations, and customs. Every new venture has degrees of risk that vary depending on the country. One of the biggest risks of doing business in India is not being prepared. Having a business plan, local partner, and community loyalty are large factors in overall business success. Another risk of doing business in India is assuming it is similar to most other Asian countries like China or Korea. India is more diverse and accepting of outsiders. To do business in India a long term commitment is required. Another major business risk is rushing into and not planning for setbacks.

Summary

Emerging as a global competitor, India has well-developed technology, telecommunications, and pharmaceutical industries. As the top exporters and creators of information innovation technology products they have secured over ten billion dollars in industry investments and generated four million jobs. Presented as a technological communication advancement project, beginning in eastern Asia, expected to benefit the entire continent and ultimately the globe. The ideal product/service demonstrates the strengths and mitigates the weaknesses of the countries spearheading the project; Russia, China, and India. Contributions will be made by each nation to include; Russia`s programming, China`s production, and India`s technology. Equal parts of programming, production, and technology will be combines to mitigate the communication and software deficiencies in each country and expected to expand to the entire western side of the globe.

References

• Amritt Inc. (2018). Common Risks of Doing Business in India | Amritt, Inc. Retrieved January 20, 2019, from https://amritt.com/services/india-business-training-workshop-and-education/common-risks-of-doing-business-in-india/
• EIU Digital Solutions. (2019). India Economy. Retrieved January 20, 2019, from http://country.eiu.com/India
• Hill, C. W., & Hult, G. T. (2018). Global Business Today (10th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
• Lott, S. (2011, November 21). India’s growing healthcare crisis – challenges of equity, capacity and funding. Retrieved January 20, 2019, from http://www.wardhealth.com/access-healthcare/indias-growing-healthcare-crisis-challenges-equity-capacity-and-funding
• Maps of India. (2019). Topography of India. Retrieved January 20, 2019, from https://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/topographic-map.htm
• Mishra, R. (2017, February 01). India’s GDP growth rate for 2015-16 revised to 7.9% from 7.6%. Retrieved January 20, 2019, from https://www.livemint.com/Industry/fOtMe4T3PN8CtLaeoO3E8M/Indias-GDP-growth-rate-for-201516-revised-to-79-from-76.html
• Pariona, A. (2017, June 22). What Type Of Government Does India Have? Retrieved January 20, 2019, from https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-type-of-government-does-india-have.html
• Subrahmanyam, S., & Thapar, R. (2019, January 16). India. Retrieved January 20, 2019, from https://www.britannica.com/place/India/Resources-and-power