An analysis of Globalization

Introduction

Globalization is defined to be the dynamic process of growth of all national linkages due to the enlargement and deepening of transnational linkages increasing due to the diversification of economic, political, social and even cultural rights. However, it is important to highlight that problems associated can become global as well, rather than just within the nation. Some people condemn globalization while others are all praise for it. It is a mixed fare that has brought riches to some and misery to others. Countries like Mexico, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and India and Pakistan to some extent have had to get a severe jolt because of globalization.

Addressing the economic and financial point of view, globalization is defined to be strengthening the links between national economies on the global markets for goods, services and especially due to their capitals. A similar definition was presented in a report in 1997 of the International Monetary Fund, that:”the phenomenon of globalization is the integration of world economy in strong growth both with the markets for goods and services and the capital”.

Globalization has thrown a new challenge before all the countries of the world. Now, even the companies in developing countries have to compete with the powerful giants of the western world. As a result of this, companies which could not withstand the effect of globalization, had either been completely wiped out or suffered heavy losses. It was once stated that, globalization would increase avenues of employment. While such avenues have increased in certain fields like information technology, dramatics, media, services, etc. They have drastically decreased in other fields like agriculture, manufacturing, and engineering etc. Regarding the global nature of technology, it has had its major sources of technical progress that it is concentrated in the developed world, the scientific research is based on global resources, and implementation of technology is focusing on global concerns just like media, services.

Global marketing deals with the marketing strategy of companies that meet the requirements of globalization and promote this process.

Economic globalization is the gradual integration of national economies in a process that continues to diminish the importance of boundaries for the development of economic activities. Expanding to the world level of economic relations and creating an international business environment, which stimulates the globalization process.

In this report we will be discussing the impact of globalization on India as a whole, the economy and how it has helped India in attaining its goal of becoming a developed country in the near future.

History and background

India is a nation of extraordinary diversity, the second largest in Asia and the seventh largest country on Earth, with a total land area of 2,973,190 sq km. It is the giant of the Indian subcontinent, which comprises fully one third of Asia. India supports one seventh of humanity and this population is continuing to increase at an astonishing rate. India had one of the oldest civilizations in the world. Like China, it is known to be one of the founding civilizations of human history.

Since 2500 B.C, the people of India have had a continuous civilization and influenced by many invasions. Indus Valley Civilization was the first major civilization in India which spread and flourished in the north – western part of the Indian subcontinent from 3300 to 1300 BCE. India had the first ever urban civilization. Several ideas, philosophies and movements which have shaped the destiny of mankind today, originated in India.

Pre-History of India

Around 9,000 years ago, India’s first settlement began, and throughout those years, India had been a mysterious land with several strong civilizations, which were able to beat both the Mongols and Alexander the Great during their history period.

During the third century BC the country was united under Asoka the Great, this period was known as India’s Golden Age. This is the time India was developing through its advances in mathematics, arts, language, astronomy and religion. Moreover, the religion of Hinduism and Buddhism was developed around this time.

Europe Arrives

India is one country that kept itself independent nation for a long time, but around the 16th century, countries like the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France and Portugal began to establish themselves around India, greatly disturbing the country. By the year 1856, India was a part of the British East Company, essentially making it a part of the British Empire. For more than 100 years India was ruled under the British Empire. The country tried to fight against Britain in India’s First War of Independence, but they were not successful.

Independence

It was a long journey till India received its independence. They always tried to push the British Empire out but without success. However, they continued to fight for their independence. It was not until the legendary Mahatma Gandhi came along and led India in the move towards independence through non-violent civil disobedience. Under his guidance, India gained its independence on August 15, 1947, along with the region of Pakistan. In 1950, the country became a republic and created its own constitution. The people of India later split into Pakistan and India. This arose from differences in culture and religion.

The Growing Giant

Once India received its independence, it was having some problems with its neighbors. It also got into a dispute with China in 1962 that resulted in the Sino-India War, and the country has gone to war with Pakistan in 1947, 1965, 1971 and 1999. On the other hand, India became a member of the United Nations and it is also one of the few nuclear nations in the world. In addition, the country has transformed itself through economic reforms and is now becoming a superpower along with China. Currently, India is known to be one of the world’s fastest growing economies and so it is expected that India will be one of the major countries of the 21st century, similar to Russia and the United States.

One thing that can be seen from this is that India, which has been around in one form or another for thousands of years, shows to it is ready to face all the challenges it is placed with and has no plans of slowing down its growth.

Primeval Globalization

Globalization can be traced back to the roots of India, ever since the start of its first civilization. India has always been famous for its trade for as back as history can remember. Since ancient times till the start of the British Raj, India has been known for its wealth and fortunes. During the medieval period, roughly from the 12th to the 16th centuries, the country was prosperous despite its political instability. The growth of towns throughout the country was a key element of this period. The impact of political and economic policies practiced by Muslim rulers of the time had led to the development of several towns. This eventually turned into trade and industrial hubs of the country, leading to its prosperity.

The economy boomed further as a stable currency system was implemented, using the silver tanka and copper dirham during the Sultanate period which was from the 13th to 16th century. Major trading cities including Delhi, Bombay, Lahore and Ahmedabad. These coastal towns began growing with large populations.

Under the Mughal era, from the 16th to 18th century, the urbanisation of India gained further momentum. The formation of a stable and uniform government let to peace and security in the country that inevitably led to the boom of commerce and trade. The escalating foreign trade led to the establishment of markets not only in towns but in villages as well. The production of handicrafts increased as the demand for them in foreign countries increased. The main town centres during the Mughal era were Ahmedabad and Bombay.

Farming was a major industry as farmers grew rice, wheat and cotton. Coastal towns were responsible for producing salt.

The history of globalization suggests that India had many transnational business relations with the world, with their major trading partner being Mesopotamia, now Iraq. Strong commerce and trade relations with neighbouring countries and Europe are all aspects of the ancient Indian economy. The ancient economy was always looking to expand its operations worldwide in search of new business locations and opportunities.

Products

There was a large variety of exquisite goods sold in the Indian markets. India was famous for their textile that was one of its main exports. Textiles were traded to Arab nations and South-east Asia. The textile products included quilts of cotton or silk, and colored or printed cloth material. Kasimbazaar in Bengal was a major trade centre for silk and cotton goods. Indian textiles were highly appreciated for their fine and elaborate design consisting luminous colours. Major trading articles included materials such as silk and cotton, metals such as silver and gold, gems, potteries and foods such as cinnamon, honey and pepper.

Hardwood furniture, embroidered with inlay work was also very popular. The furniture was based on European designs; however the luxurious inlays and carvings were influenced by Mughal style. Maine markets for furniture were in Sindh and Gujarat.

During the 16th century, carpet weaving touched new heights and became an important profession for trade. The carpets produced during the Mughal era depicted either animals in combat or flowers.

South India became famous for its fishing industry, pearl, ornamental work in cut stones, ivory and tortoise shells. Diamonds also became a major trading good once they were mined from the Deccan Plateau. Calicut was a major centre for cutting and polishing stones.

Indian arts and crafts were popular in European countries due to their beauty.

Foreign Trade

India’s exports were greater than its imports. Some of the main imports were horses from Kabul and Arabia, European glassware and Chinese raw silk, including porcelain were also imported. Luxury goods such as stones, corals, precious wines, dry fruits, scented oils, wool, bronze, wax, perfumes and velvets were also very popular imports.

Goods that were commonly exported included gold-embroidered cloth caps, guns, elegantly designed clay pans and pots, scissors, silk and knives. Goods such as oils, sugar, sandalwood, salt, coconuts, diamonds and other precious gems and spices were also mainly exported.

Arab traders shipped Indian goods as far of to European countries via the Mediterranean and Red Sea. Indian products were also sent to East Africa and the Far East. An average of 300 ships docked at Indian ports per year, this magnitude of trade promoted the shipbuilding industry in coastal towns. Eventually there were over 300 ports to accommodate the huge number of ships visiting. These facts can give a good idea of a what scale trade was during the medieval era.

Therefore, as it can be seen India has always enjoyed a positive balance in trade relations with other countries. The income from export of indigo, spices, textiles and sugar alone were in millions of rupees, thus having the state treasury abundantly filled with gold and silver.

The Decline in Prosperity

Political conditions in India during the 18th century such as the decline of the Mughal government led to the downfall of mercantile community. As a result trade downscaled and then the Maratha invasion of India also reduced commerce and trade.

During the 18th century, the invasion of the British Empire deteriorated the prosperity of India. The defeat at the Battle of Plassey in 1757 started the declined of the country. The British implemented heavy duties on exports and imports to the country, which hurt trade relations. After taking over, the British prevented other nationals from entering the country for trading purposes. Also the export of Indian textiles was banned.

The British monopolised the foreign trade of India, crippling it. They started importing goods only from England, forcing Indian traders to other professions. A once great trading country had been handicapped to its death by the end of the eighteenth century.

(Kumar)

Globalization and liberalization

Both globalization and liberation are interrelated to each other. The first wave of globalization emerged in India, when economic liberalization policies were implemented in the 1990s by Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Finance Minister of the country at that time. From then on, the economy has improved vastly in many aspects and has drastically increased the standard of living of the citizens.

Pre liberalization period and globalization

Post-independence till the end of the 1980s, India’s economic strategy was primarily based on government control and a centrally run market. India did not have a proper consumer based marketplace and thus, foreign investments were not coming in.

During the 1980s, there was an increase of stress on globalization and liberalization of the economy by the Congress government. In 1991, Rajiv Gandhi-led Indian government imposed limits on office holders regarding expansion of capacity, brought down corporate taxes, and abolished price controls. The main objective of the government was then to help boost the GDP of India and to increase exports.

Even though the economic liberalization policies were implemented, they did not do much in improving the economic state of the country. The imports eventually exceeded exports and thus the country started to have severe balance of payments. The downfall of the Soviet Union, a key trading partner of India, also provoked the problem against India. The country was in a desperate state for economic reforms in order to improve its situation.

Liberalization in the 1990s

Under the guidance of Dr. Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister of India, the first steps towards liberalization were taken, with the aim towards embracing globalization. This was considered a milestone in Indian history and ever since, the economy has been steadily improving. Today the Indian economy is one of the fastest growing in the world with a growth of 7% per year.

The Indian Economy: The Effect of Liberalization

Globalization and liberalization have greatly affected the Indian economy and converted it in to a multi-billion dollar consumer market. Today, most of the economic changes in the country are based on the demand supply cycle and other economic factors. Today, India is the world’s 11th largest economy in the world with a nominal GPD of US$1.243 trillion and 4th largest in terms of the Purchasing Power Parity at US$3.561 trillion. The business and economic environment is evolving towards constant improvement. The Indian economy has transformed into a vibrant, rapidly growing consumer market, containing a strong middle class with over 300 million people. India provides a large market for consumer goods, on one hand, and imports capital goods and technology to modernize its manufacturing base, on the other. Revolution in the field of manufactured goods coupled with opening up the economy to the globalized market forces, has led to the inflow of various consumer goods into the Indian market to cater to the needs of consumers and a variety of services such as banking, financing, insurance, transport, housing construction, entertainment are being made available to consumers.

Liberalization and privatization have paved the way for a number of market players to enter into the Indian economy ensuring greater choice and better quality of goods and services to the consumers. Greater reliance on market forces have been felt in the last two decades. However, it has also been widely recognized that fate of the consumers cannot be left to sheer market forces. Government intervention is required to ensure protection of consumers.

According to a report by the World Bank, the Indian market is expected to grow at around 8% in the year 2010 and become the largest economy in the world by 2020. However due to its large population size, India has a low per capita income of $3,100. India ranks 139th with its nominal GDP capita and 128th with its GDP per capita at PP

Globalization and liberalization have positively impacted various important economic segments. Today, the service sectors, industrial sectors and the agriculture sector have grown drastically. 54% of the annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of India is part of the service industry while the industrial and agriculture sector contributes around 29% and 17%. With the improvement of the economy, more and more new sectors are starting up and drawing profits such as IT services, cement, textiles, and chemical industry. With the boost in the supply level, the rate of employment is also increasing accordingly.

Several improvements in the manufacturing sector have helped it grow from 8.98% in 2005 to around 12% in 2010. The communication sector has grown up to 16.64%. The annual growth of the industrial sector has been 6.8 %, which will rise further in the future. India is one of the largest industrial markets in the Asia-Pacific region.

Globalization and foreign investment

One of the key aspects of globalization is foreign investment. India has emerged as one of the ideal markets for foreign investors due to its vast market size. Several foreign companies are investing in the Indian market to get higher profits. The foreign institutional investments (FII) amounts to around US$ 10 billion in FY 2008-09, while the rate of Foreign direct investments (FDI) has grown around 85.1% in 2009 to US$ 46.5 billion from US$ 25.1 billion (2008).

India’s economic growth has been hindered in past by a variety of factors. For example in 2002, deficit in expenditures for areas such as power, telecommunications, construction, real estate and transportation prevented growth of the Indian economy. This led to permission and promotion of foreign investment, which has contributed to a continuous rate of development in last five years.

Being the least hit of all economies, the Indian economy has really survived the storm of global financial crisis. Rating agencies like, Moody’s, have stated that the strong performance is a resultant factor of renewed growth between India and China.

Growth figures of Indian economy:

* Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at factor cost – 6.7% in 2008-09

* Growth of GDP in agriculture, forestry and fishing – 1.6% in 2008-09

* Growth of GDP in industry – 3.9% in 2008-09

The Government of India is undertaking every possible means to restore the India economic growth. Some other Indian economy growth projections are –

World Bank has forecasted an 8% growth for India in 2010

Economists predicted a 6.5% growth for 2009-2010

Goldman Sachs predicts a 5.8% for 2010

The Government has raised the GDP growth forecast to 8.5% for FY11.

India Economy statistics –

The foreign exchange reserve of India stood at US $285.5 billion on October 2009.

India’s GDP was US $1.217 trillion in 2008.

India economy’s GDP growth was 7.09% in 2008.

Exports contributed to the Indian GDP in 2008 with a growth rate of 24.0%.

Imports contributed to the Indian GDP in 2008 with a growth rate of 30.34%.

India’s wholesale based annual inflation rate increased to 1.51% as on October 17, 2009.

Impact of Globalization on Employment in India

Globalization has played an important role in the generation of employment in India. Due to the economic liberation policies in 1990s, the employment scenario in the country has seen to be significantly improved. The following will provide a study of the impact of globalization on employment in India that will bring out a number of factors.

Market liberalization policies and employment

The awareness and awakening of globalization took place in India during the early 1990s, when the Finance Minister Manmohan Singh initiated the open market policies. This initiated a critical change and improvement in the gross domestic product of the country and the exports increased significantly.

There was a sudden increase in the customer base and it led to slowly giving rise to the consumer market where the market was changing and was dependent on the demand supply chains. In fact, the growth in demand led to the certain changes and the supply to start increasing. Once the supply starts, it would be directly linked to the employment; moreover the supply leads to an increase of production which leads to more employment over the years.

Growth of new segments in the market

Due to globalization and the growth of the consumer market, a number of segments in various sectors of the industry have grown over the years. This has led to the significant rise in the rate of demand and supply. During the recent years, there are a number of industry segments – like the information technology, agro products, personal and beauty care, health care and other sectors that have come into the market.

According to the studies and experts it says that there are a wide range of sectors that have led to the positive growth of the economy in the country. Due to the upcoming of more and more industries, there has been a high demand for quality workforce. For example, there are a number of young people who are interested in working and so take up jobs in all segments for a new start.

In the unorganized sector as well, there has been an increase in various sectors which has improved the rate of employment in the country. As per the recent surveys, and data collected- there has been a significant increase in the number of people working in the unorganized and allied sectors. The pay package in all these unorganized sectors have also increased to a great extent.

Improvement in the standard of living

Due to the globalization – it has left a major impact in the economy of India, and so there has been an improvement in the standard of living of the people.

These improved changes and the approving economic growth has led to the development of infrastructure, health care facilities and services, per capita income and other factors which have really led to the high growth rate. It has been predicted that the economy in India will be growing around 6-7% yearly. This growth rate is expected to improve the overall employment situation more and the per capita income will tend to increase significantly.

Development of other sectors

Globalization has positively affected the growth of various sectors in India. Based on the effect of globalization, it has opened new markets along with new employment opportunities for the people. The service industry has a share of around 54% of the yearly Gross Domestic Product (GDP). From this figure itself, it explains how the service industries are doing in the market and as such, there are plenty of employment opportunities. Meanwhile, in the other sectors, industry and agriculture – the rate of employment has gone up. The industrial sector contributes around 29 % while the agricultural sector contributes around 17 % to the gross domestic product. Additionally, there are other exports in the country that consist of tea, cotton, jute, wheat, sugarcane and so on. Due to the growth of customer base in all these sectors, more and more employment opportunities are opening up. Moreover, actually a number of young people and fresher’s are getting jobs in all types of industry.

For example, in the manufacturing sector, there has been a growth of around 12% whereas; the communication and storage sector has also grown up by around 16.64%.

Government Initiatives

To deal with the encouraging effects of globalization, the government has taken a number of initiatives. There are a number of employment opportunities such as former Prime Minister Rojgar Yojna and the former Chief Minister Rojgar Yojna initiated programs to improve the employment situation in rural areas. The Minimum Wages scheme has been set up and tends to be successfully. To learn more about the improving the quality of workforce, a lot of effort has been given to the impact of education. Under these schemes, new schools are being opened up and attention is also being given to the welfare of the students. Similarly in the urban sector too, more and more employment opportunities are being opened up for the youth in a number of government sectors, banks and so on.

Sequentially, to promote communication and migration of workforce to various parts of the country to cater to the needs, the government has also developed communications to a great extent. New roads and highways are being constructed to increase connectivity.

Impact of Globalization on Poverty in India

The impact of globalization on the poverty level in India has always been an ongoing issue. While some scholars agree that globalization has led to high economic growth in the country, leading to positive economic conditions and a better standard of living for the people. Others contend that globalization barley had any positive impact on the country as a whole.

The economic growth after liberalization of 1990 led to rapid progress of public facilities all over the country. The standard of living increased as the per capita income increased, which inevitably improved the poverty level of masses. In general, if the economy of a country improves, the poverty level reduces. As India became a consumer based marketplace it created more job opportunities, which also helped improved the poverty level. Also with the growth of globalization throughout India, the agriculture sector grew tremendously, which helped reduce poverty mainly in rural areas. The introduction of technologically advanced equipment changed the way farmers worked. Tools such as tractors and rowers increased the produce in terms of quality and quantity. As such, farmers have started earning more and have improved their per capita income and the standard of living.

Globalization has also positively impacted the health care of India. As several medical advances came into the country, they improved the overall health situation of India. This led to the increase of morality rates and reduced the malnutrition rates.

We as a group feel that globalization helped improve the poverty level of India and the factors listed above are proof of that.

Challenges India is facing

It is predicted by Goldman Sachs and the Global Investment Bank that by 2035 India will have the third largest economy of the world after US and China. India has a booming economy and by 2035 it will grow to 60% of the US economy. To keep its status and to achieve GDP of 10% for the financial year India has to overcome many challenges.

According to the CIA world fact book India has a population of 1.15 billion people and is growing at a rate of 2.11% approximately. India’s population is causing trouble for India to succeed. The population puts a lot of pressure on the economic infrastructure of the nation. Therefore, India needs to control its growing population.

The World Bank has estimated that 41% of India lives in poverty. This means that 41% lives below US $ 1.25 a day. India needs to take some major steps to decrease this figure. It is crucial for a country to first eliminate poverty in order to succeed.

The increasing population of India puts pressure on the economic resources and job opportunities. For the growth of the country the Indian government has started various schemes such as Jawahar Rozgar Yojna and Self Employment Scheme for Educated Unemployed Youth (SEEUY). However, these schemes are not as successful as they were planned. The growing population would cause unemployment in the country and become a problem. The labor force is growing at about 2.5% a year but employment only grows at 2.3% a year. India is also struggling to complete the pending investment projects. These investment projects are essential for long term development of the country and therefore need to be in progress. India’s debt is 58% of GDP according to the CIA World Fact book; this is another issue that India is struggling with.

Another challenge India is facing due to globalization is the divide between the Rural and Urban Areas. It is said that even though India has progressed so much, at least 70% of the population still lives in villages. There is a very severe difference in the rural and urban growth. This is causing a wide gap between the two. As a result, India needs to work on the gap between the rural and urban areas. There should be a balance between both the societies.

To work better towards the country’s growth and success India needs to work on maintaining fiscal discipline and introducing financial reforms such as privatization of the public sector. The budget for the expenditure over a certain period should be matched by its revenues. Davesh Kapur, director of the Centre for Advanced Study of India and an associate professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania explains, police forces, land rights, education, and health, are not in a good condition. Kapur stresses that the link between education and social justice in India is increasingly significant, as social inequalities limit access to severely limited educational resources. India needs overcome its challenges by planned economic reforms, such as its labor laws from which there are more employment opportunities for the growing population.

Reorganizing the agriculture sector, introducing new technology and reducing the dependence on monsoon will not only create more job opportunities but will help India advance.

Opportunities in India

Globalization has provided many opportunities for the growing population of India. It has allowed many companies to be introduced in India. Due to globalization, companies have had the opportunity to increase their base of operations and expand their workforce to a broad range of customers. Globalization is playing a major role in the growth of the country and enlarging opportunities that are available.

Many companies are taking advantage of India’s lower cost yet English speaking work force. One of the major forces that have expanded its growth is the outsourcing of IT and business. This gives better options for the local work force and utilizes the global communications technology such as the email and internet (“Economy Watch”). Multinational companies have the advantage of establishing low cost outsource work force in India. This has also helped many organizations in India to gain confidence which can play roles in globalization through expansion.

Since the liberalization of 1990, there has been positive growth, which resulted in an significant improvement in the job markets and employment. Standards of living have been better and improved significantly in India. Development of the infrastructure and health care has become better and it is known that India will grow around 6-7% yearly (“Business Maps of India”). This growth rate is expected to improve the overall employment situation more.

In order to have faster communication and migration of workforce to various parts of the country, the government has developed infrastructure to a great extent. New roads have been and are being constructed to increase the connectivity between cities.

Inflation in India

Indian government is also making a great effort to check on inflation. Banks cannot advance loans to the speculators and to the persons who may try to create monopolistic conditions. The rate of interest in order to encourage savings and withdraw the currency from circulation; the government also introduced Compulsory Deposit Scheme for people in the higher income group people. Efforts are being has not met with success. The unfortunately the government has not met with success. The rise in prices goes unabated. Some suggest that there should be demonetization of currency. But the government thinks that is an extremely unorthodox method and will create doubts in the minds of the public about the stability of the government. Moreover, no step has been taken against the traders who are mainly responsible for unreasonable rise in the prices.

The rise and fall in prices is a natural phenomenon. But if the rise in prices is not proportionate to the rise in per capital income, inflationary tendencies take birth. The rise in the prices started as early as the Second World War. But the rise was not significant enough to affect the economy of the country. During the recent years the rise has been abnormal and it has threatened the stability of our economy, nationally and individually. Inflation is a vicious circle and it becomes difficult to get rid of it once a nation is caught in it. In India, inflation has become a chronic disease for their economy.

One of the important reason for inflationary tendencies is the deficit budgeting. In order to cover the gap, India has been resorting to the printing of more paper currency because of the foreign aid and the enhanced taxes that cannot cover up the deficit. As a result of it, there is a greater circulation of paper money. And so the prices of various commodities have risen abnormally because the purchasing power of people has increased.

The rise of prices in India can also be attributed to the unethical attitude of traders. Their only motive is to get maximum profit and so they try to fleece customers as much as possible. This has created a class of people who are becoming richer and another class of people who are getting poorer.

The rise in the prices of petrol has also affected the prices in India. Despite the best efforts, India is not producing more than 25% of its total requirement of oil. So, India has to import a huge amount of oil every year. Consequently freight charges have increased abnormally and the prices of the commodities have shot up.

General Information on India

Political

India is the largest democratic country in the world. The governance is divided into three branches, which are legislature, executive and judiciary. The President is the official head of the country and Prime Minister is the head of government. The constitution defines India as a sovereign, secular, socialist and democratic republic. India’s President is elected in a 5 year term by house of Parliament and Legislature. The last election was held on July 21, 2007 and next election will be in July 2012. The House of Parliament elects the Vice President every 5 years. The Prime Minister is chosen by parliamentary members of the majority party, following the legislative election.

As a democratic country, India is the first country that applied the Non-Align Movement. This political policy brings India a step forward in terms of International relationships with either Russia or United States. India also has maintained its relationship with China and some of the developing countries in Asia, South America and Africa. In addition, India has a participating role in the Association South East Asian Nation (ASEAN), South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and World Trade Organization (WTO). India is considered as one of founding members of the United Nation Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Furthermore, India also served its military and police in thirty-five United Nations (UN) peacekeeping forces across four continents that involved more than 55,000 officers.

Technological

The improvements in technology minimize the dependability of India on other nations. Technological development is managed well under the Department of Science and Technology. Home made product machinery, biotechnology and vehicle are seen as a proof of Indian fast growing technology improvement. Nevertheless, those home products do not represent whole improvement process. The nuclear industry as well as nuclear weapons are categorized as a High-tech achievements so far and in addition nuclear energy is very important for India’s growth as it is considered as an main economic power reserve that is cheaper than fuel and any other energy source currently available. In addition, India is becoming a major role player of the software industry in the world.

In term of a long term technology vision, the Department has set up Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) that carryout its mission to generate technology forecasting, technology assessment and Techno Market Survey (TMS). TIFAC also exercising new forecast module known as “Technology Vision of India up to 2020” covering seventeen important sectors to economy of India that includes Agriculture and Agro food sector, transportation facilities, machinery, textiles industry, health care services, etc.

Legal

Based on English universal law, judicial review of legislative acts, accepts compulsory International Court of Justice (ICJ) jurisdiction with reservations, separate personal law codes apply to Muslims, Christians and Hindus (The World Factbook, 2009). The government in general, respects the privileges of citizens and many country laws protecting the human rights however, enforcement still minim and convictions were rare. Many serious problems are still happening. Most of the cases are heavily related to current an issue in India, which are corruption, collusion and nepotism that remain and seems to be hard to solve. Hundreds cases of human rights violation were unpunished and social acceptance of caste discrimination remained omnipresent.

In term of labor rights the current federal minimum wage is $5.85 per hour stated on July 24, 2007 and $4.25 per hour during the first 90 following calendar days of employment for the labour force under 20 years old. While the overtime pay at least one and half times of regular salary paid after more than 40 hours work time (usgovinfo.com, 20010).

Environmental

The Indian government concerning a lot of its environmental issue as under the ministry of Environment and Forest implementing policies and programmes relating to conservation of natural resources including biodiversity, forest, wildlife, lake and rivers and ensuring the safety of animal and prevention of pollution. In addition the ministry set up Environmental Information System (ENVIS) as a plan program and network of information collection, storage and distribution to varying users which are including researchers, academicians, research scientist, etc.

This environmental concern led India as a country care of its natural conservation that has strong relation to International Issue, which is global warming. Its also announce the world that Industries in India especially those which have direct impact into environment are watched by government to be more environment friendly when doing their activities.

GEOGRAPHY

India geography is quite unique since it stands out on the globe as its own. It is located in South Asia right above the Indian Ocean. It is considered as it own sub-continent. The climate is very warm year round. During the summer the temperatures can reach up to 110 degrees Fahrenheit. This causes many power outages and sanitation problems. Another problem in the country is the water. With all the people in the country, to have a clean and sanitized water system is very difficult. Water must be boiled and filtered in order to be consumed.

There are other key geographic features in the country such as the Himalaya Mountains. These account for the highest peaks in the world. Many people come to visit these mountains for worship and adventure. It is important to consider how the climates can change here, due to it’s the Great Plains. This is where most of the population resides. The rains in the monsoon season are not as bad as Bangladesh but they can still be very heavy and violent.

With all these features, agriculture and herding are important economic activities here. Globalization has opened new markets and facilitated imports and exports.

Language

India is separated into 25 states and 7 territories which create 16 major languages and 1,000 minor languages and dialects. This diversity in language creates somewhat of a barrier for India to become one of the foremost leaders in world because of the lack of unity. As a result, the Indian government has taken steps to correct this matter with promoting Hindi as the national language. However, Indians who cannot speak Hindi frowned upon this notion. They believed the best jobs would go to Indians who spoke Hindi and with their pride of their regional languages kept them from accepting this unity, thus government decided against this idea. Now, the India government recognizes 13 regional languages as official languages. Children in schools learn Hindi as their second language, with English being used primary in higher education.

CULTURE

The language of India is extremely important. India is one country that does not only have one language but many more, with one common language. In fact, it has over 800 dialects. The national language though is Hindi. This is derived from Sanskrit. The languages are native to a region. People from India are usually multi-lingual. This is necessary because usually people will know you are not from the area if you don’t speak their language or if you don’t speak it properly. Education in India is of high standards, they have private school along with universities. There are a couple of main religions in India. Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism are dominant throughout the country. Most people, 70%, are Hindu.

Some important holidays are New Years, Diwali (the celebration of lights), and even kite day on the Independence Day. All of these issues have a huge impact on the economy. People market and advertise products to adjust to the residents.