Each country has its unique cultural nuances, so businesses need to scratch the surface and delve deeper if they intend to sustain and expand their footprints in countries like India  

Starting off a business activity In India, might be easy, but the crucial aspect being its sustenance. In fact few of the world’s biggest organization have failed to carry on with their good work in India. May be their flawed perceptions on Indian markets, acted as a major roadblock. There are certain cities in India that have consistently made to the headlines, say for instance, Bangalore and Hyderabad. No doubt, reading a few newspaper copies and magazines will help, but this is not adequate if you are planning to establish and expand your footprints in India. You need to drink deeply from the well of India, to know India better.    

Must-know facts about India that would help any business grow, expand and consolidate in India  

Unity in Diversity

Never in the wildest dreams should one assume that India has one big homogenous population. Simply put, consumers should not be treated as a one single unit. No doubt in western countries factors such as language, religion play a major role in arriving at certain amount of homogeneity; however, in India there are many factors that contribute to the incredible diversity. Say for instance the language aspect. Though English and Hindi are India’s official language, each of the 22 states and 7 union territories have their own unique language. In terms of religion, though 81 percent of the population practice Hindusim, Islam, Chrisitanity, Sikhism, Jainism, Buddhism and Zorastrianism is also practiced in sizeable numbers. More importantly, food habits change from region to region. The differences don’t end here. Then there are caste differences, weather differences, invasions, occupations all contribute to the diversity in Food Habits.

So naturally, diverse population has to be dealt diversely. You can’t paint everything with the same brush. For doing business in India, thorough understanding of the diversity is required. In fact few of the business houses have taken pains to study Indian diversity; as a result they are doing well in India.    

Case in point is:  McDonalds. Apart from competitive pricing, what makes it popular among the masses is its Indianised approach. The menu has been tailor-made as per Indian palate. For instance, there is McAloo Tikki Burger, Maharaja Mac and McCurry among other Indianised versions. Kelloggs on other hand found the going tough in India as they never bothered to study the Indian markets.  

What also needs to be considered is that customization should be region centric too, especially when it comes to Indian markets. For instance, vegetarianism is the norm in South India. So people prefer to have some vegetable dishes on their menu. Likewise, coffee is preferred over other hot drinks in the South.

The rise of Indian Middle Class

The Indian Middle class has become the hot targets for almost all Multinational businesses. With the rise in disposable incomes, the Indian middle class is spending more and more on entertainment, consumer durables, and books and so on. Having said that, this class still believes in value for money and is not necessarily brand driven, evaluates every product and service in terms of ‘value for money’ and wouldn’t mind shifting to a non-branded product, if the perceived value is more. Certainly, India’s purchasing power has been consistently climbing up from $2149 in 1999 it is projected to reach $16500 in 2040. However, brand driven culture cannot be totally ruled out in Indian context, considering those metro cities like New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and a few other smaller cities have growing cosmopolitan culture, with growth in services sector.  Even cities like Pune, Hyderabad and Gurgaon are catching up.   

However, states like Bihar, UttarPradesh and Orissa will need more time to build up the middle class. For that matter even northern eastern states are lagging behind.  

Red-tapism in Bureaucracy

One of four watch dogs of democracy, bureaucracy in India is stifling, problematic and corrupt. Moreover, most of the legal laws designed, serve the state and not the citizenry of India. Today, Indian citizens find themselves vulnerable at the hands of laws, rules and ordinances. Though India has been following socialistic principles since long, even then 20% of India’s population takes 25% of its gross income and 40 percent takes away 2 percent of the national income.

Recently, a highly-placed official from Singapore spoke on the lackadaisical approach of Indian Bureaucracy. In fact he referred to Indian Bureaucracy as a stumbling block to investment by Singapore companies in India.