Marketing, to paraphrase Chairman Mao, is war by other means. And as such, the promos of a market leader tend to be tinged occasionally with overtones of aggression. Admittedly, the Rajnigandha Pan Masala ad which Bharat Wariavwalla uses as a metaphor for assertive nationalism (‘Brand India: All power, no vision’, IE, October 15), is couched in jingoistic terms. All the same, the ‘hamari bari’ marketing war cry is understandable. For even today the term ‘globalisation’ conjures up in the popular mind images of foreign multinationals swamping India’s landscape, gobbling up Indian companies.The Videocon TV commercial that Wariavwalla alludes to, in contrast, employs a sublime and rooted, yet universal, invocation to locate an Indian MNC in a globalising world. It’s an expression of the essential attribute of the group’s vision to reach out and touch the lives of people globally. The ad proudly proclaims an economically resurgent India’s global march.No doubt, collectively, such ads point to an undercurrent of nationalism currently coursing through the veins of India Inc. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that these are fairly early days of embracing globalisation in the life of a 58-year old nation. At another level, Bollywood’s attempts to recreate history, like Aamir Khan’s Mangal Pandey, contribute to the resurrection of feel-good nationalist impulses in society at large. To be sure, these apparently disparate developments reinforce one another.This said, there can be no denying that the Indian multinational has well and truly arrived. Beginning with Tetley in 2000, the Tata Group has acquired an array of assets all over the place—Daewoo Trucks, Nat Steel and Tyco Global Network among a host of others. The A.V. Birla group with a significant presence in South East Asia and Egypt, has recently forayed into Canada, Australia and China. The Hyderabad-based Matrix Laboratories’ acquisition of the Belgian giant DocPharma and that of RPG Aventis by Ranbaxy signify strategic incursions into the European market. Thanks to overseas acquisitions by M&M, Bharat Forge, Amtek, and TVS, the Indian auto sector now has a global footprint. The PSU behemoth ONGC too is pursuing its global ambitions aggressively with investments spread across four continents.No Indian company today can hope to sustain a respectable domestic market share for long without becoming a global player. And far from being an “obsessive urge for global status”, it’s an inexorable imperative of the market place in today’s economy. Recent Deal Street numbers also underscore the strong underpinnings of the confidence that continues to inspire and egg on India Inc. in its global march. The figures for H1-2005 reveal a total of 277 deals (targeting Indian companies) valued at $6 billion — compared to a total of $5.2 billion for the whole of 2004. While M&A deals made up 88 per cent (by value) of all deals made in H1-2005, 48 per cent (by value) of these deals have been made by Indian companies (excluding Indian subsidiaries of international companies). Overseas acquisitions by Indian companies have also witnessed a steep climb. While there were 28 such acquisitions in 2002, 49 in 2003 and 60 in 2004, this number has already touched 42 in H1-2005.I believe no leader of business and industry in India could have remained unstirred by the derring-do of the likes of Lakshmi Mittal on the international stage.The massive surge of national pride among large sections of the business, academia, media, bureaucracy and politicians which Wariavwalla sees as being coeval with the ascent to power of the BJP at the Centre, was in turn driven by the dynamism imparted to the economy by stepping the pedal on economic reforms. The resulting confidence of business and industry has rubbed off on most major political formations across the country. Indeed, this has surfaced and expressed itself at its best in the new-found confidence and ability of the governments, both at the Centre and in the states, in coping with natural calamities — as in the response to the devastating December 2004 tsunami or in managing post-earthquake reconstruction in Gujarat.In recent years, the contributions of Indian civil society too to national relief and rehabilitation efforts have been increasingly noteworthy. Public limited companies shelled out a total of Rs 400 crore as donations during FY 2004-05, with the number of companies donating over Rs 1 crore each touching an all-time high of 70, while not a single foreign MNC made it to the list of top ten donors.It’s time we capitalised on the potential of the Indian economy to leapfrog and achieve a double digit and equitable growth. The challenge before India Inc. now is to prove itself and make a difference on the ground.The writer is chairman of the Videocon Group
