The future of American investments in IndiaWhen Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President George Bush announced the nuclear deal, there was almost no chance of its passage as the Bill necessitated a change in an important law, the 1954 Atomic Energy Act. Only congressional action could enable this change. A major obstacle to making this change was that Bush was quite weak at the time this Bill was presented to the Congress. Some Indians then formed a virtual organisation, the US-India Friendship Council, made up of community leaders from various states, for the sole purpose of lobbying for this deal. The members of this council visited senators and congressmen, held rallies and events in the capital, engaged the media, reached out to other Indians and so on. It was the first time the Indian-American community demonstrated that it now not only had economic power but was also able to influence policy in the US.
The council is geared towards how India can take advantage of the Indian diaspora. The first generation of Indians in the US grew up in India with Indian values. India gave them their lives and the US their livelihood. While you can take a person out of India, you cannot take India out of him. So this generation genuinely wants to give back to India what they received from their motherland. Their attempt to engage second-generation Indians in the US who do not have that emotive bonding with India as the first generation does is laudable.
The future of American investments in India is bright. It was a defining moment in India-US bilateral relations when President Obama came to India in November 2010 and addressed Parliament. Till then Indians were not quite sure what his opinion on bilateral issues was. But his visit to India was a major event and he even got Indian deals. However, after his visit, India has been hit by scandals. But the equation between Obama and Singh is excellent. US FDI will surely come to India but India must demonstrate its ability to be transparent so as to not scare away foreign investors weary of corruption. Regarding outsourcing, it's made out to be a bigger issue than it is. A very influential American has assured that outsourcing is the US's problem and it will look into that, let India take care of infrastructure and other issues which are needed for attracting FDI. There are American-Indians who will continue to lobby for American investments in India, but it's important that the Indian government resolve the corruption issue, otherwise India's great potential may be lost.
Can India surpass China?
In the matter of manufacturing China is number one today. India ranks No.2 among 26 nations. India has a vast, English-speaking workforce and engineering talent. Hence India holds out promise as a global manufacturing hub.
Concerning cost of labour, today we have an edge over China, a traditionally export-led nation now preoccupied with spurring consumption at home. India compared to its neighbour is already buoyed by domestic demand and has an abundance of young, cheap labour. The question is, can we use this fact to our advantage? The answer depends on how much reforms we bring about in the matter of boosting manufacturing and building the skilled manpower it needs.
China has the kind of world-class infrastructure we're still struggling to build. Factories need power, connectivity and distribution chains. We need a new market-oriented policy that trims scope for government ham-handedness in land transactions and links buyers to sellers.
While five out of 10 persons in India's are self-employed, 3.5 are casual labourers, only 1.5 are regular wage-earners or salaried workers. Thus a yawning gap exists between the organised and unorganised sectors. The latter sector provides 90% employment but accounts for less than one-third of manufacturing production.
Labour reform will ensure that employers invest in workers' skills upgrade. This in turn will show up in improved productivity and more globally benchmarked products. That's apart from giving labour market entrants job security and access to social benefits. Without mass-scale absorption of underpaid, underemployed farm labour into factories, we can't match China's success in poverty alleviation.
The answer to the question whether India will surpass China depends on whether our government will take the initiative in bringing about the reforms which are badly needed if we have to give a boost to our manufacturing power.
Hollywood films have solid demand in IndiaIndian fans of western movies will now get to watch some Hollywood releases earlier than US audiences. The upcoming Tintin movie directed by Steven Spielberg The Adventures of the Unicorn - is slated to be released in India in November and in America during December. Similarly, the new James Bond thriller and the action flick, Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol - starring Bollywood's Anil Kapoor alongside Tom Cruise - may also be released earlier in India than elsewhere.
The size and power of the Indian film-viewing public is amazing. Most of the members of our public are passionately in love with cinema, fond of flash and spectacle. Indian viewers are often fine-tuned into originally literary characters like Tintin and Bond. Ian Fleming and Herge's colourful creations have sold like hot cakes for decades.
But side by side there is danger of video piracy flourishing. With early releases in India, audiences flocking to cinemas for that authentic 'big-picture' experience, video pirates could be denied large supplies of illegal DVDs and their scope limited further by tough anti-piracy laws overseas. This could be the beginning to many happy ends.
Hollywood has scored over Kollywood (Tamil Film Industry) and that too on their home ground. A string of Hollywood films have capitalized on the absence of significant competition from Indian films and are raking in the moolah at the box office. While there have been almost half-a-dozen Hollywood films (the fourth Pirates Of The Caribbean movie, The Hangover Part II, Kung Fu Panda 2, Fast & Furious 5, Thor, Priest, Source Code) that have become superhits, there has been only one Tamil film that the trade pundits accept as a superhit Ko. The rest, including star-driven fare have done only from above average to ordinary business. The audiences seem to want to explore movies that have a universal appeal, in addition to their regular choice of films. People come to the movies for entertainment and Hollywood movies have delivered on that. Hollywood films had a far better connect with today's audiences.
Sequels and franchises have an in-built audience, who are familiar with the storytelling and the characters and that helps a film in the current market scenario.
Dubbing films in regional languages, more localized marketing, 3D and other cutting-edge technology, the growth of multiplexes, a more globalised audience these are some of the factors helping Hollywood in India. And now that the Hollywood films are releasing on the same day as their US release it is also helping. Not only does it help combat piracy, but the film also profits locally from the international release buzz.
The council is geared towards how India can take advantage of the Indian diaspora. The first generation of Indians in the US grew up in India with Indian values. India gave them their lives and the US their livelihood. While you can take a person out of India, you cannot take India out of him. So this generation genuinely wants to give back to India what they received from their motherland. Their attempt to engage second-generation Indians in the US who do not have that emotive bonding with India as the first generation does is laudable.
The future of American investments in India is bright. It was a defining moment in India-US bilateral relations when President Obama came to India in November 2010 and addressed Parliament. Till then Indians were not quite sure what his opinion on bilateral issues was. But his visit to India was a major event and he even got Indian deals. However, after his visit, India has been hit by scandals. But the equation between Obama and Singh is excellent. US FDI will surely come to India but India must demonstrate its ability to be transparent so as to not scare away foreign investors weary of corruption. Regarding outsourcing, it's made out to be a bigger issue than it is. A very influential American has assured that outsourcing is the US's problem and it will look into that, let India take care of infrastructure and other issues which are needed for attracting FDI. There are American-Indians who will continue to lobby for American investments in India, but it's important that the Indian government resolve the corruption issue, otherwise India's great potential may be lost.
Can India surpass China?
In the matter of manufacturing China is number one today. India ranks No.2 among 26 nations. India has a vast, English-speaking workforce and engineering talent. Hence India holds out promise as a global manufacturing hub.
Concerning cost of labour, today we have an edge over China, a traditionally export-led nation now preoccupied with spurring consumption at home. India compared to its neighbour is already buoyed by domestic demand and has an abundance of young, cheap labour. The question is, can we use this fact to our advantage? The answer depends on how much reforms we bring about in the matter of boosting manufacturing and building the skilled manpower it needs.
China has the kind of world-class infrastructure we're still struggling to build. Factories need power, connectivity and distribution chains. We need a new market-oriented policy that trims scope for government ham-handedness in land transactions and links buyers to sellers.
While five out of 10 persons in India's are self-employed, 3.5 are casual labourers, only 1.5 are regular wage-earners or salaried workers. Thus a yawning gap exists between the organised and unorganised sectors. The latter sector provides 90% employment but accounts for less than one-third of manufacturing production.
Labour reform will ensure that employers invest in workers' skills upgrade. This in turn will show up in improved productivity and more globally benchmarked products. That's apart from giving labour market entrants job security and access to social benefits. Without mass-scale absorption of underpaid, underemployed farm labour into factories, we can't match China's success in poverty alleviation.
The answer to the question whether India will surpass China depends on whether our government will take the initiative in bringing about the reforms which are badly needed if we have to give a boost to our manufacturing power.
Hollywood films have solid demand in IndiaIndian fans of western movies will now get to watch some Hollywood releases earlier than US audiences. The upcoming Tintin movie directed by Steven Spielberg The Adventures of the Unicorn - is slated to be released in India in November and in America during December. Similarly, the new James Bond thriller and the action flick, Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol - starring Bollywood's Anil Kapoor alongside Tom Cruise - may also be released earlier in India than elsewhere.
The size and power of the Indian film-viewing public is amazing. Most of the members of our public are passionately in love with cinema, fond of flash and spectacle. Indian viewers are often fine-tuned into originally literary characters like Tintin and Bond. Ian Fleming and Herge's colourful creations have sold like hot cakes for decades.
But side by side there is danger of video piracy flourishing. With early releases in India, audiences flocking to cinemas for that authentic 'big-picture' experience, video pirates could be denied large supplies of illegal DVDs and their scope limited further by tough anti-piracy laws overseas. This could be the beginning to many happy ends.
Hollywood has scored over Kollywood (Tamil Film Industry) and that too on their home ground. A string of Hollywood films have capitalized on the absence of significant competition from Indian films and are raking in the moolah at the box office. While there have been almost half-a-dozen Hollywood films (the fourth Pirates Of The Caribbean movie, The Hangover Part II, Kung Fu Panda 2, Fast & Furious 5, Thor, Priest, Source Code) that have become superhits, there has been only one Tamil film that the trade pundits accept as a superhit Ko. The rest, including star-driven fare have done only from above average to ordinary business. The audiences seem to want to explore movies that have a universal appeal, in addition to their regular choice of films. People come to the movies for entertainment and Hollywood movies have delivered on that. Hollywood films had a far better connect with today's audiences.
Sequels and franchises have an in-built audience, who are familiar with the storytelling and the characters and that helps a film in the current market scenario.
Dubbing films in regional languages, more localized marketing, 3D and other cutting-edge technology, the growth of multiplexes, a more globalised audience these are some of the factors helping Hollywood in India. And now that the Hollywood films are releasing on the same day as their US release it is also helping. Not only does it help combat piracy, but the film also profits locally from the international release buzz.
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