I happened to watch a news channel that was show casing a program about Brand India. It was a panel discussion. They were discussing the various things coming in the way of the "Brand" connected with India and what we can do to improve it. I will just highlight a few points i thought very relevant and give my view on the subject.
Well the word "brand" itself holds very high regard to anyone. Which one of us can say that we would not have a wardrobe full of branded clothes/shoes/watches etc, if we had the chance. You can have a lot of fake brand clothes but when you wear the real deal it is always more prominent and holds more regard in the eyes of others. What I'm trying to say is that the brand you wear is the way people associate you. So "Brand India" is the way people around the world perceive us. therefore you can imagine how important it is.
In a world where perception matters, Brand India matters. These were the opening statement the conductor of the seminar started with. Yes, it is always in fact a matter of perception. India over the years has seen so many developments and has emerged as a runner up for the next super power, maybe even the winner. India use to be a hype before but today it is a reality.. Today we are considered a quality country, A country that is to be feared.
However just like any other country we too have our drawbacks. The main being the slow growth of HDI (human Development Index). We are the 6th wealthiest country in terms of foreign reserves yet we have 70% of our population in poverty. We have spent just 1% of our GDP on health and Education. This sort of percentage is only seen in countries like Africa. Most developing and developed countries are at 10%.
A very defeating factor that we are facing today is that, even though India has made progress in various fields and is a country that the whole world is looking at now, we cannot negate the fact that the average Indian is ashamed to be called an Indian. We have some serious issues with pride and patriotism. For some reason we feel derogatory being called Indian. To me personally this is quite shocking... however i do agree with it. What one must understand is that yes we do have our flaws, but which country doesn’t? We need to take pride in our country no matter how flawed it may be. If you have a problem then try and fix it. There is no point in taking a back seat and complaining about everything wrong with the country. It’s your country too... If its not up to the mark its your fault too.
Another very important point in the panel discussion was “Inclusive growth.” You might be aware of the term, if not what it means is "an equitable allocation of resources with benefits accruing to every section of society, which is a utopian concept. But the allocation of resources must be focused on the indented short and long terms benefits and economic linkages at large and not just equitable mathematically on some regional and population criteria." We have been able to come out of the economic downturn so easily. For this we need to majorly credit the rural population. The urban population was in a bad shape- companies were facing lower profits, employees were losing jobs, the purchasing power declined etc. Here is where the government policies really helped us. The NRD’s that put money in the rural hands which fueled consumption. If you look at the FMCG’s they did not have a single downturn because they were selling in the rural areas.
What we lack is ENFORCEMENT. we have adequate regulations but the problem is in enforcing these regulations. In fact some people may raise questions about the slow opening of our economy. It is actually a good thing, because opening up the economy means bringing into the country a new culture. Every country has their own culture. With a country like India we have so many different cultures. The country needs to be able to accept the foreign culture. In the 70’s Brazil opened its economy to the fullest and criticized India for its slow opening. The Brazilian economy has fallen 4 times in these span of years.
India is in transition where it will go solely depends on the people of the country and each on of us.
Comment Question: What do you think is the drawback of your respective country. What suggestions do u suggest?
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