I am returning from a very busy visit to India, reaching out to alumni, corporate partners, prospective applicants, and the business community. Darden may be the best-kept secret among all the top B-schools in the world. But when the secret gets out, the response is warm, engaging, and eager. I’ll return to Charlottesville to consider with my colleagues a number of important opportunities in the Indian Subcontinent. It has been a good trip.
India is changing rapidly. Any country with a GNP growth rate of about 9 percent will appear to explode in slow motion—from one trip to the next, skyscrapers, superhighways, and corporate campuses seem to pop out of thin air. A global consulting firm told me that it would double the number of partners in India (from an already large base) in the next five years. In separate conversations, some large corporations expressed the intent to hire more than 10,000 MBAs annually for the foreseeable future. The top line of major Indian companies is showing growth rates in the range of 50-85% annually.
You also note small, but jarring, changes. For instance, on this trip I saw people of very humble means talking animatedly on cell phones, listening through ear buds to iPods, and ride fairly new motorcycles. The motorways in India offer a breathtaking experience. It is said that there are no driving laws in India, only guidelines. One doesn’t change lanes so much as jockey for slight advantage, not unlike a scrum in rugby. Trucks and buses are required to have the words, BLOW HORN, painted on their rears—all drivers seem to observe this with a panache that would draw rude hand gestures in the U.S. Maybe the horn-blowing is a metaphor for youthfulness—the average age in India is 25. Executives at Infosys told me that the average age in their company is 26—perhaps that’s why it felt like a university. Tata Motors announced recently that it will introduce an automobile for the Indian market priced under US$3,000, a price point that established auto-makers think is impossible. But the attempt will grant mobility to a society that seems to be crying for it. (And let’s hope the Indian roads can handle the added traffic and horns.)
India’s successful growth is a good example for why one should learn to manage in a diverse environment. The country is an unlikely assemblage of numerous races, religions, ethnic groups, and castes. The currency shows no less than 14 officially-recognized languages on each bill. Many observers thought India would dissolve into chaos after its independence in 1947; yet it celebrated its 60th anniversary of independence earlier this year. The secret of its longevity may be the institutions of democracy and rule of law for resolving disputes: certainly, these institutions help to create an environment attractive for foreign investment.
India is not without its problems. The government is a famously bureaucratic in ways that can stifle business formation and investment. The investment in infrastructure is years behind where it should be. Illiteracy and poverty are widespread. Over 300 million Indians subsist on less than US$1.00 per day; income inequality is severe. Various small Maoist groups (such as the Naxalites) are conducting guerrilla insurgencies out in the country. And calm borders and neighbors would be nice to have: earlier this week, General Musharraf suspended Pakistan’s constitution; last month, the rulers of Myanmar suppressed a pro-democracy movement; and political violence in Nepal and Sri Lanka have hit the headlines in recent months.
Still, I remain cautiously optimistic about India’s future. Its trend and impact on the world today suggest that you should go there soon. India will be a major player in the business environment for the rest of this century. To understand its implications for business, you should see it first-hand. At the least, in future years you will be able to say that you knew India when…
Posted by Robert Bruner at 11/08/2007 07:39:27 AM