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On the cover there is this flying elephant. India has often been characterized by the ´Elephant´ vis-à-vis ´Dragon´ for China. India´s evolving socio-economic profile, coupled with expectations of revival, can create niche opportunities for businesses worldwide. They can boost growth and help the elephant to race ahead, hence the usage of ´Wings´. The usage of ´Flying´ is to convey to global businesses that they could benefit from this growth, by actively partnering in these opportunities. This is the content of this book by Sourajit Aiyer, a financial expert from Mumbai/India. One should also bear in mind that the language of business in India is English, and it is spoken across strata of population. The legal system is largely based on the British common-law, a result of its colonial heritage. For global businesses, these aspects might make India relatively easier to navigate, as compared to others in the emerging economy universe.
Knowledge First - this corporate mantra has to be recalled by every reader who should read this paper openly and intelligently. Based on an appeal by an Indian politician, that the 21st century could be India´s, he recalls that whenever the world had moved into periods of knowledge throughout its history, India had played a leading role through its contributions in sciences, mathematics and economics. The 21st century is the century of knowledge. Only when the knowledge is conveyed to potential partners, can it be utilized. The purpose behind this exercise is to identify some of the niche opportunities that might emerge in an evolving and reviving India. For global businesses, the benefits might include increased demand for their specialized services, investments into high-growth pools of opportunity in India, demand for intellectual capital and manufactured inputs, ability to develop products more relevant for India´s cultural specificities, etc., and for India, the benefits might include business and income opportunities, creation of future assets to assist its growth story, deepening of domestic and export capabilities, and a fill-up to overall employment and entrepreneurship. Employment is a necessity in India - given the virtuous circle between income, demand, supply and growth.
Some of the opportunities mentioned are conventional ideas, but some might be unconventional, but not unreasonable. Many ideas relate to European and North American small businesses, but it is these very small businesses that can become large in a growth economy and help expand and diversify the corporate base. India´s journey following the 1990s reforms saw several such examples. Indian businesses themselves have matured, and can be useful partners. The recent slowdown made them more adaptable.

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THE CONTENTS

- Becoming a potential destination for affluent retirees and pensioners from across the globe
- Irrigation-highways combined along road-highway network, to synergize infrastructure efforts for faster completion
- Packaging the ´Package-Tour´ opportunity
- Taking global offshoring to the next level - From KPO and BPO towards MPO, CPO, PPO, DPO and SPO
- Content-sharing coming in focus, as localization and competition drives rationale for syndicated content
- Leveraging microfinance to boost rural demand of FMCG goods
- A ´hybrid´ e-commerce platform to link the sizable South Asian markets, as a cross-border seller´s marketplace
- Expanding into EPC engineering in cash-rich Middle East: A business area where India can actually out-do China
- Crowd-sourcing may find large, focused talent pools in India, given its vast demographic diversities and size
- Niche opportunities in higher-education, as a growing economy and job competition make skill-addition inevitable
- Learnings from Starbucks´ story, for QSRs and coffee-shops looking to enter India
- Affordable housing finance: Critical success factors in India´s next big opportunity
- ´World´s Envy, Chindia´s Pride´: The opportunity for developing India-China direct road corridors
- Boosting renewable energy sector, through domestic, cost-effective manufacturing and innovative tapping solutions
- Let all the PSUs face the lions - Unsold PSUs calling global consultants specialized in turnarounds and efficiencies
- Reorienting skill vouchers to deepen skill-creation, and make India a base for talent sourcing to high-growth nations
- Working-spouses, double-incomes, lack of family help and obesity awareness creating shifts in the demand for processed foods
- Inland Waterways calling global expertise, to utilize opportunities from India´s bountiful water network
- Using a consulting-approach towards SMEs, to upscale the SME stock exchange platforms

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