Understanding India from a Business Perspective: Opportunities and Challenges for MNCs

India has, over the last decade, achieved a position of pre-eminence in many spheres of economic activity, most notably in information technology, business process outsourcing, and various other service industries and also increasingly in manufacturing. At the time when the country was liberalized in the early 90s, nobody thought that such a spectacular performance by the Indian industry would be possible only 15 years later. In fact, during several years immediately following the liberalization of the Indian economy, the common refrain of Indian industrialists to the Government of India was for a ‘level playing field.’ The speed with which the Indian industry has adjusted to these cataclysmic changes in the environment is beyond the wildest expectations of industry watchers and pundits. The Indian industry has, by and large, shown resilience in standing its own ground. Many Indian companies have gone on to take their rightful positions in the world arena. Some of them have even emerged as world leaders in their respective domains. The tide seems to have turned a full circle with many multinational companies (MNCs) with head offices overseas increasingly looking at setting up local operations in India to harness the value that the country delivers.