India Meri Jan

India Meri Jaan

It was not even two decades ago, that the corporates in India were struggling to snatch talent from the Government and the public sector institutions. They were professions of choice, nay of status and station as well, and of course gave the necessary sense of security that the people of that generation so much needed.

For 400 million middle class India it was still an arduous struggle to get a gas connection or a telephone connection. The telephone which seldom worked or showed signs of life, was always cloth covered and found a place of reverence equivalent to the idols in the house. The always elusive lines man was always in great demand, the quintessential messiah, who would help us connect to friends and family by bringing the black contraption back to life. When the strowger exchanges gave way to electronic ones, I know, my mother went out of the way to get one for ourselves, though our house was not really in the area where the switch was first happening. My brother studying at a prestigious college in Bhopal was enjoying his freedom a little too much, being away from home news of his well being was too critical not to obtain, and the electronic telephone connection was sought just to accomplish that. But to gain the complete benefit of the electronic technology, it was essential that the call receiving connection was also electronic.

Since independance, the telecom industry has undergone a lot of change, including one nationalisation and one corporatisation. The DOT being changed to BSNL ushered an era of change.
Today, there are 400 mn mobile phone users, a long journey from the first connection in Calcutta in 1851. In some months India has added some upto 10 mn users, and annually numbers which equal the population of Russia.

In the Automobile sector, year 2009 was an year of moderate degrowth though the production figures of 2010 show about a 25 pct growth. Of course to an extent this is due to the low base effect. Within the automobile sector, the Multi Purpose Vehicle did show the highest pace of growth.

IT, the industry that is the hallmark industry of the country is poised to be a net recruiter this year. The domestic industry is poised to grow 10 pct from USD 14 bn last year and the exports have touched a new high of USD 50 bn, although this milestone was achieved just 2 years later than the forecast of 2008 of Mc Kinsey. To the domestic market you could easily add USD 10 bn which is the estimated size of the e Governance market including the Unique Identification Number scheme.

The recession notwithstanding, the pharmaceutical industry has shown a growth of about 17pct in year2009. Today, India is home to the largest number of US FDA approved plants outside of India. Though, medical tourism in India was poised for a growth much more than it actually showed. Yet, the healthcare industry in forecast to be USD 70 - 80 bn in the next 5 years.
The Medicity, built on lines of the John Hopkins may give a fillip to Medical Tourism once again. Mauritius is clearly one country where the medical tourism has made noteworthy advance.