Dr.Syed Mehboob
Senior Economic and Political Analyst
http//:www.thenewslark.com
email:drmehboob.thenewslark@gmail.com
India is the largest country of the world in terms of population and with a GDP (Nominal) US$ 3,732 billion it is fifth largest in the world and with GDP ( PPP) US$ 13,119 billion it is 3rd largest economy of the world however, its GDP per capita (nominal ) is only US$ 2,612 and its rank is 139th and GDP per capita ( PPP) is US$ 7,183 and its global rank is 127th. Its 12% population lives below poverty line which is around 169 million and 15% population lives in multidimensional poverty which is equivalent to 212.43 million. Its total labour force is 523.8 million in 2023 while unemployment rate is 10.09 % which means about 57.09 million people are unemployed while unemployment rate among youth is 20%. India is strategic ally of USA and European countries therefore it has a great success of hiding it’s the ugliest face from the world. It is the worst place of minorities on the earth and ruled by RSS extremist ideas which killed Indian founder Narender Modi and celebrated his murder by distributing sweet. Muslims, Sikhs and Christians are unsafe in India and just for example 70,000 people were displaced in Manipur, 300 churches were razed to ground or burnt down. Similar is the case with Sikh and Muslims. Whatever the condition is in Kashmir it is a flashpoint and is very similar to Gaza where Israel is committing war crimes and genocide against Palestinians while India is working on pre- planned genocide of Kashmiris. These factors are out of sight of the investors.
Due to number of reasons India became the graveyard of International investment and foreign capital. More than 2,600 foreign companies have run away from India. Over the past period of time, foreign funded enterprises in India have withdrawn on a large scale which led more people to question whether India’s investment environment and policies have changed. In recent years, India’s policy of heavy taxes and fines for foreign companies has also led to the withdrawal of many foreign-funded companies. However, the root cause of the problem may be more complex. The policy change may just be a symptom of the withdrawal of foreign capital from India. The increase in fines may be measure taken by the Indian government to encourage or force foreign-owned companies to better comply with Indian laws and policies. However, this policy may lead to the withdrawal of foreign funded enterprises in some cases. Foreign companies may think that the cost and risk of operating in India are high, and the policy environment is uncertain, so there is no guarantee. This situation makes foreign funded enterprises have to look for a more stable and reliable investment environment. The withdrawal of foreign investment in India will have a wide-ranging impact on the Indian economy and other aspects. It may weaken India’s international competitiveness, reduce Indian job opportunities, and affect India’s technological innovation and economic development.
Treatment with minorities including Muslims, Sikhs and Christians and situation in Kashmir is alarming and is similar to Gaza where Israeli genocide policies created the worst position which highly affected Israeli economy.
Indian policy makers need to rethink their policies suppressing Muslims, Sikhs and Christians as at any time these minoritoies will get tired of its policies which could harm its economy and reputation. The world Bank’s Ease of doing Business Ranking 2023 China is at 32 while India’s is at 62 far away from China. Global compoanies trying to set up units in India often face months of struggle to get administrative approvals, as has been the case with APPLE. About one million youth are entering into job market in India every month and about 12 million in a year. In order to open a supermarket in India, one has to secure at least thirtynine locenses.
The news that the Indian authorities recently arrested three employees of the Indian branch of the Chinese mobile phone manufacturer, VIVO, in the name of so called combating financial crime had harassed the investors and it was deeply shocked for foreign investors.
In recent years, Chinese smartphone manufacturers have been the harder-hit targets of selective enforcement and targeted interference in India. According to data from the Indian government, from 2014 to 2021 , nearly 2,800 foreign companies registered in India closed their operation average 400 companies in a year 33 companies in a month and one company in every 24 hours . Almost all foreign companies in India have fallen victim to the Indian authorities’ extortion. Taking the technology sector as an example, besides vivo, companies such as Xiaomi, Apple, Huawei, Google, IBM, Microsoft, and Qualcomm have all encountered various troubles in India. They have either been labeled with a political tag motivated by pan-security concerns and subjected to various “raids and investigations,” or fined for various absurd reasons. In short, whoever becomes successful and grows in India is likely to face being “slaughtered,” and it is likely to happen more than once. Therefore, some people describe India’s business environment as “plucking up the feathers of the wild goose whenever it passes by.” Apparently, India is not only aiming at the goose “feathers,” but also its “meats.”
In recent years, India has vigorously promoted its “Make in India” policy, which is not a problem in itself. It is natural for a country to aspire to develop its own manufacturing industry. However, the problem lies in India’s approach, which is not about self-reliance but rather about exploiting foreign companies. Some people have summarized India’s consistent strategy as luring foreign companies in, deceiving them, and then unjustly robbing their achievements, turning foreign results into Indian one. In addition to the lack of transparency in market regulations, lower than expected market demand, and poor business environment, low labour skills, and poor infra structure development, have all contributed to the exodus of foreign companies from India. Recently a string of prominent multinational corporations including electronic maker Faxconn Group and communications products supplier Wistron Group, are withdrawing from the Indian market. These companies are a long list of multinational enterprises that were forced to exit, scale down or consider pulling out of the Indian market over the years. This trend brings sharp focus on the challenges foreign firms are facing in India, despite the country ‘s seemingly vast and promising consumer market.
The perception of India as a potentially lucrative destination appears to conceal significant risk for foreign investors.
Over the decades, wooed by the seemingly booming market, plenty of multinational companies have tried to jump on the bandwagon of exploring investment options in India, but few have proceeded any further. In recent years, the Indian government has doubled down on blackmailing foreign companies with trumped up charges. Google, Amazon, Nokia, and Samsung have all suffered billions of outrageous fines, while others including Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Intel and Wistron have all suffered hit snag in the Indian market.
Growing extremism, Hindutva philosophy, worst treatment with minorities, growing violence and hatred are potential threat and according to the Henley Private Health Migration Report 2023, around 6,500 Indian millionaires and their families are leaving the country. This is migration of High net worth Individuals (HNI) .
Year | Out flow of HNI |
2022 | 7,500 |
2023 | 6,500 |
Total | 14,000 |
Australia, UAE, Switzerland are the most preferred investment destinations for wealthy Indians. Each High Networth Individual in India with a worth of one million dollars and above is 344,600 in 2022. Which is a large one but since this out flow is continued average 7,000 milliners are quitting India in a year, 583 in a month and 19 millionaires on daily basis. India has 344,600 High Net Wealthy Individuals (HNWIs), 1078 centi-millionaires (those with wealth exceeding US$ 100 million) 123 billionaires (those with wealth exceeding one billion or Rs. 82 billion) . Political stability, low taxation, and personal freedom have always been key metrics for millionaires when it comes to deciding where to live.
Besides 85% of start ups in India failed and closed down.
Following are the main reasons for the failure of Startups in India
- Lack of funds:On close observation, it is evident that insufficient funding or the lack of it caused most of the startups to shut down.
- Highly anticipated model, not in sync with the nature and lifestyle of the Indian population:Some of the startups listed above failed because their highly anticipated models were not appropriate for Indians. Startups should either wait for the right time or educate their future consumers about their technology in advance. Also, the company should pivot only after a thorough market study.
- Poor customer service and sub-par quality of the products offered: Be it an online startup or a brick-and-mortar store, customer service is of utmost importance. Some startups compromise on customer service and the quality of their products; the compromise always results in the closure of business.
- Lack of focus and legal disputes:It is imperative for any startup to focus on building a solid foundation and then growing it further. Entrepreneurs should also focus on the legalities which may cause disruptions in the future. What if you ignore these two factors? You cease to operate like Stayzilla.
Despite so many successes there are many chances of Indian failure in future which is not kept in mind and one of them is genocide in Kashmir which could lead to situation like in Gaza and growing hatred, intolerance and Hindutva