28-New Melody 1/2_A4 Temp 03/08/2011 11:36 Page 28
British
Punjabis
New melody for new entrepreneurs ommon legacy, pluralism , an open society and a free press; all the aforesaid is common lingo used at various India - UK conferences debates and discussions at the political quarters. The fact is that all these sound more like archaic old melody to the ears of new business and entrepreneurs from both India and the UK. They now spend their time and effort in producing new music for the market, much to the likes of Itune users if you like. Their efforts are now much more bold ; striking towards newer paradigms. As Increasingly, Indian companies are expanding into international markets and setting up satellite offices, marketing hubs, project and liaison offices and actively competing in the international market; managing cross border operations, whether as a SME or
C
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Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar - 2011
a global conglomerate, has its own challenges. The feeling is mutual amongst the British business who are eager to mark a strategic spot in the busy Indian bazaar. ‘Merge with the emerging’ is the new mantra. Given this enthusiasm amongst the business and the markets from both the sides, what one should strictly avoid is , depending on diplomats and bureaucrats to communicate and address the roadblocks and hurdles. This is not to say the sources mentioned above are unreliable, rather the idea is to move beyond the summits, agreements and conferences and take a lead in setting the tone for economic partnerships amongst countries. In a world where communication is not synonymous to telephones any longer, private sector and civil societies have a much larger role to play in leading the way forward. if one needs to point at a gap that needs urgent attention in India, it is the lack of ‘mind to market’ skills for innovation. Despite its ability to churn out world class scientist and engineers, the Indian R&D space has no recognised innovation cluster equivalent to an oxford or a silicon valley. This space can surely be a good spot for the UK innovation companies that produce custom made technology to suit the requirements of the market. Finally in specification to the legal services opening up in the India market ; from the clients perspective – Indian or foreign, there is little debate about the benefits of foreign law firms setting shop in India. However, the bigger question is whether the Indian law firms would benefit from this change ? Given the growth trajectory of the Indian economy in the last decade or so, every policy decision made is based on sound logic and meritocracy than bureaucracy. Having said that , what is also evident is the snail’s pace at which decisions are made in the policy quarters but at the end they are lauded for their prudence as they are market driven. A recent example is the final nod given to the Vedanta takeover of Cairn India or the final discussions over opening up the retail sector for FDI’s which is likely to come through by august this year. having worked with the decision makers and the industry leaders for a while now, I am confident that the decision made on this issue will also be in favor of both the participants but difficult to say when.