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Tuesday 18 August, 2009

‘NANO’ and ‘IPL’ present a ‘New India’ to the world.



Results of the General Elections to the largest democracy (INDIA) in the world might have been the most talked about developments in recent times. More so, in the context of Mr. Manmohan Singh propelling the United Progressive Alliance to power for its second term making him the first Indian Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term. The buoyancy in the stock markets is a testimony to the support that this government is likely to give to the continuation of the economic reforms since it has more or less the required majority in the Parliament.

However, a new breed of visionary people who see greater possibility for their companies within “Bharat and Beyond” are creating a “New India” – almost another country that resides in the modernizing cities of Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and New Delhi and not on the plains on either side of the river Ganges, where majority of the Indian Prime Ministers had their roots.

Among them is Ratan Tata, chairman of the Rs 80,000 crore Tata Group considered as the doyen of the new era of business enterprises in the Indian mainland. Not only has his conglomerate launched the “NANO”, the world’s cheapest car, heralding a revolution by making it possible for the world’s poor to purchase their first car, but also has set out on the most ambitious foreign expansion of an Indian company, snapping up big foreign companies, including car companies Land Rover and Jaguar and the Anglo-Dutch steel maker Corus. The move was watched with envy and admiration everywhere.

Mr Tata’s modernising vision is shared by the likes of Nandan Nilekani and Narayana Murthy, pioneers of the information technology outsourcing industry and co-founders of Infosys. Their experience of the call-centre revolution and the US market has inspired them to believe India capable of more widespread societal transformation. Much of that hope is based on a young population – more than 70 per cent of the country is below 35 years old – working in India’s favour.


The Indian Premier League cricket championship (IPL) best echoes the sentiments of the new age India where capitalism and bollywood have come together to promote carnivalism. IPL Teams are owned by business leaders including Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries and Vijay Mallya, chairman of the UB group, and Bollywood stars, such as Shah Rukh Khan, Priety Zinta and Shilpa Shetty. The result is a six-week television spectacle of sporting prowess, consumerism and world-beating ambition.

And this time, the Carnival was successfully hosted in South Africa reiterating once again that a “New India” has formally arrived on the global scene.

Picture 1: Ratan Tata, Chairman of the Tata Group with Nano Car.
Picture 2: Lalit Modi, Chairman of IPL.

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