Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
factories. They were less interested in efficiency and in operating profits. That changed
when the economy opened up to international competition and foreign financing.
Information technology has played a special role because it brought a much-needed 'can
do' confidence in the early 2000s to the business sector that had been bedevilled by India's
image of poor-quality production. 'IT' has also provided direct employment for over 2.5m
people, and maybe another 10m in spin-off work, with annual revenues of around $100 bil-
lion, 75 per cent exported. Call centres have become stepping stones to urban success for
young people who may otherwise have been stuck in their villages for life.
Business families continue to dominate and are dynastically grooming younger genera-
tions to take over control though they now mostly have to earn their positions. They are
supported by professional company directors and managers, with varying degrees of del-
egated authority, down the line. India's entrepreneurial potential has been demonstrated by
companies such as the Tata and Reliance conglomerates straddling a range of industries,
Bharti Airtel in mobile telephones (in Africa as well as India), Godrej in businesses from
soaps to rockets, and Mahindra and Bajaj in autos. Some new businesses continue to excel
at managing their relations with the government as entrepreneurially as their new ventures,
with names like Adani in infrastructure, and various airlines, notably Jet Airways, emulat-
ing the success of the Ambanis. Many have formed pre-1991-style protectionist cliques,
sometimes in league with the Indian public sector, to restrict foreign investment in areas
such as defence, airlines, insurance, supermarkets and retail food distribution until they are
ready to cope with the competition.
In terms of caste and business communities, Marwaris, who were the most prominent
among business families, have declined. This business clan comes from the deserts of Ra-
jasthan and grew rich serving Mughal and British rulers, but its people are basically traders
at heart so could not compete in a more open world. Names like Mafatlal, Dalmia, Scindia,
Walchand, Shriram (DCM), Nanda (Escorts), and Modi have declined markedly and some
have vanished. Just two branches of the once dominant Birla family empire remain signi-
ficant: the Aditya Birla Group, which is run successfully by Kumar Mangalam Birla and is
among the biggest in the country, and the
Hindustan Times
media group that is run by his
cousin, Shobhana Bhartia.
Ratan Tata and Others
Ratan Tata, who headed the Tata conglomerate for 21 years till his 75th birthday in 2012,
has been the most lauded businessman of the post-1991 era. He was a trailblazer, notably
for spearheading foreign investments by Indian companies, spending about $20bn in just
over a decade. It started rather unexcitingly with the purchase of Tetley Tea in the UK in
