India occupies a strategic position

India occupies a strategic position in Asia, looking across the seas to Arabia and Africa on the west and to Burma, Malaysia and the Indonesian Archipelago on the east. Geographically, the Himalayan ranges keeps India apart from the rest of Asia.

Location

India lies to the north of the equator between 8′ 4′ and 37° 6′ north latitude and 68° 7′ and 97° 25′ east longitude. It is bounded on the south west by the Arabian Sea and on the south east by the Bay of Bengal. On the north, north east and North West lie the Himalayan ranges. Kanyakumari constitutes the southern tip of the Indian peninsula where it gets narrower and narrower, loses itself into the Indian Ocean.

Neighbours

India shares its political borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan on the west and Bangladesh and Burma on the east. The northern boundary is made up of the Sinkiang province of China, Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan. India is separated from Sri Lanka by a narrow channel of sea formed by the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar.

Physiographic regions

The mainland comprises seven regions. (1) Northern Mountains including the Himalayas and the North Eastern mountain ranges, (2) The Indo Gangetic plain, (3) The Desert, (4) Central highlands and Peninsular plateau, (5) East Coast, (6) West Coast, (7) Bordering seas and islands.

Languages in India

The different states of India have different official languages, some of them not recognized by the central government. Some states have more then one official language. Bihar in east India has three official languages – Hindi, Urdu and Bengali – which are all recognized by the central government.

INDIAN SOCIETY & CULTURE

Hierarchy

The influences of Hinduism and the tradition of the caste system have created a culture that emphasizes established hierarchical relationships.Indians are always conscious of social order and their status relative to other people, be they family, friends, or strangers.
All relationships involve hierarchies. In schools, teachers are called gurus and are viewed as the source of all knowledge. The patriarch, usually the father, is considered the leader of the family. The boss is seen as the source of ultimate responsibility in business. Every relationship has a clear- cut hierarchy that must be observed for the social order to be maintained.

Political administration of India

India is a democracy. Before its independence its future leaders chose the liberal democratic system as the administration system of India. On 26/01/1950, India declared itself as Republic. On this day the Constitution of India came into force. Today India is a federation of 28 states and 7 union territories and formally this federation is known as a Union.

Nominally the head of the country is the President in whom all executive powers are vested, but the real administrator of the country is the Prime Minister. After the national elections are held the President calls the most suitable candidate to form a government, known as the central government. Normally this candidate is the head of the largest party in the parliament. In case the government resigns because of any reason, the President can call the other candidate to form the government.

The President can also declare, according to government advice, on new elections and if necessary an emergency state. The President has the right to be updated about crucial government matters and other rights like giving amnesty to prisoners etc. According to the Constitution, elections are to be held once in every five years, unless the parliament dissolves earlier or on the other hand, emergency is declared and in such a case parliament can continue another year.

The Indian Parliament consists of two houses. The Lower House called the Lok Sabha and the Upper House called the Rajya Sabha. In the national elections candidates are chosen for the Lower House. The candidates are elected in territorial constituencies. There are 543 territorial constituencies. Two members from the Anglo-Indian community are nominated to the Lower House by the President. The law, which obliges Government office to reserve 15% from the Scheduled Castes and 7% from the Scheduled Tribes, also exists in the Parliament. At least 22% of the Indian Parliament members belong to these two communities. In the past few years there is an attempt to oblige a law to allow about 33% women as Parliament members.

The Upper House, Rajya Sabha, consists of up to 250 members. Of these members 230 are elected by state legislatures and about 15 are nominated by the President. Unlike the Lower House, the Upper House cannot be dissolved, but one third of its members resign every two years.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS IN INDIA

International Business in India looks really lucrative and every passing day, it is coming up with only more possibilities. The growth in the international business sector in India is more than 7% annually. There is scope for more improvement if only the relations with the neighbouring countries are stabilized. The mind-blowing performance of the stock market in India has gathered all the more attention (in comparison to the other international bourses). India definitely stands as an opportune place to explore business possibilities, with its high-skilled manpower and budding middle class segment.

With the diverse cultural setup, it is advisable not to formulate a uniform business strategy in India. Different parts of the country are well-known for its different traits. The eastern part of India is known as the ‘Land of the intellectuals’, whereas the southern part is known for its ‘technology acumen’. On the other hand, the western part is known as the ‘commercial-capital of the country’, with the northern part being the ‘hub of political power’. With such diversities in all the four segments of the country, international business opportunity in India is surely huge.

Sectors having potential for International business in India –

1. Information Technology and Electronics Hardware.
2. Telecommunication.
3. Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology.
4. R&D.
5. Banking, Financial Institutions and Insurance & Pensions.
6. Capital Market.
7. Chemicals and Hydrocarbons.
8. Infrastructure.
9. Agriculture and Food Processing.
10. Retailing.
11. Logistics.
12. Manufacturing.
13. Power and Non-conventional Energy.

Sectors like Health, Education, Housing, Resource Conservation & Management Group, Water Resources, Environment, Rural Development, Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) and Urban Development are still not tapped properly and thus the huge scope should be exploited.

To foster the international business scenario in India, bodies like CII, FICCI and the various Chambers of Commerce, have a host of services like –

1. These bodies work closely with the Government and the different business promotion organizations to infuse more business development in India.
2. They help to build strong relationships with the different international business organizations and the multinational corporations.
3. These bodies help to identify the bilateral business co-operation potential and thereafter make apt policy recommendations to the different overseas Governments.
4. With opportunities huge, the International Business trend in India is mind boggling. India International Business community along with the domestic business community is striving towards a steady path to be the Knowledge Capital of the world.

It was evident till a few years back that India had a marginal role in the international affairs. The image was not bright enough to be the cynosure among the shining stars. The credit rating agencies had radically brought down the country’s ratings. But, as of now, after liberalization process and the concept of an open economy – international business in India grew manifold. Future definitely has more to offer to the entire world

INTRODUCTION OF SOMALIA:

Somalia

Geography

Somalia, situated in the Horn of Africa, lies along the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. It is bounded by Djibouti in the northwest, Ethiopia in the west, and Kenya in the southwest. In area it is slightly smaller than Texas. Generally arid and barren, Somalia has two chief rivers, the Shebelle and the Juba.

Government

Between Jan. 1991 and Aug. 2000, Somalia had no working government. A fragile parliamentary government was formed in 2000, but it expired in 2003 without establishing control of the country. In 2004, a new transitional parliament was instituted and elected a president.

History

From the 7th to the 10th century, Arab and Persian trading posts were established along the coast of present-day Somalia. Nomadic tribes occupied the interior, occasionally pushing into Ethiopian territory. In the 16th century, Turkish rule extended to the northern coast, and the sultans of Zanzibar gained control in the south.

After British occupation of Aden in 1839, the Somali coast became its source of food. The French established a coal-mining station in 1862 at the site of Djibouti, and the Italians planted a settlement in Eritrea. Egypt, which for a time claimed Turkish rights in the area, was succeeded by Britain. By 1920, a British and an Italian protectorate occupied what is now Somalia. The British ruled the entire area after 1941, with Italy returning in 1950 to serve as United Nations trustee for its former territory.

By 1960, Britain and Italy granted independence to their respective sectors, enabling the two to join as the Republic of Somalia on July 1, 1960. Somalia broke diplomatic relations with Britain in 1963 when the British granted the Somali-populated Northern Frontier District of Kenya to the Republic of Kenya. On Oct. 15, 1969, President Abdi Rashid Ali Shermarke was assassinated and the army seized power. Maj. Gen. Mohamed Siad Barre, as president of a renamed Somali Democratic Republic, leaned heavily toward the USSR. In 1977, Somalia openly backed rebels in the easternmost area of Ethiopia, the Ogaden Desert, which had been seized by Ethiopia at the turn of the century. Somalia acknowledged defeat in an eight-month war against the Ethiopians that year, having lost much of its 32,000-man army and most of its tanks and planes. President Siad Barre fled the country in late Jan. 1991. His departure left Somalia in the hands of a number of clan-based guerrilla groups, none of which trusted each other.

MAIN TOURIST ATTRACTION

A number of hotels were built when a new deep-water port was opened in the capital Mogadishu with the help of the World Bank. However, tourism to Somalia is not encouraged. There are many historical cities, and in the south of Somalia the flora and fauna are particularly interesting, but until the security situation improves tourism is a risky matter not to be embarked upon lightly.

MAIN IMPORT:

1. Foodstuffs
2. Chemicals
3. Machinery
4. Textiles
5. And petroleum.

MAIN EXPORTS:

1. livestock
2. Banana.
3. Meat,
4. Fish
5. leather
6. Wood.

AIRPORT & HARBOUR

The international airport is at Mogadishu. Major towns are connected by Somali Airlines, the national carrier. Flights are often disrupted because of security concerns.
The main harbours in Somalia are Mogadishu, Berbera and Kismayu. The port of Mogadishu now has modern shipping berths.

BILATERAL RELATIONS INDIA AND SOMALIA

Bilateral:

India and Somalia enjoyed excellent political, economical and cultural relationship until the collapse of the previous regime in 1991. After over a decade of civil war, Somalia now has a Transitional National Government established in August 2000, which expressed its desire to re-establish all round and traditional relations, which existed between the two countries and peoples. Somalia attached great importance to Indo-Somali bilateral relations and has sought India’s help in training of disarmed militias, rehabilitation, modernization and equipment of the reactivated military and police camps, training of staff in human health sector and rehabilitation of public infrastructures.

Diplomatic Links:

Due to increasing civilian unrest and mutiny by a section of the remed forces, in early 1990’s that resulted in widespread attacks on foreign nationals and their interests we were compelled to close our Mission in Mogadishu.

Recent High level Meetings:

EAM met the Somalian Foreign Minister on the sidelines of the Asian-African Summit on April 23, 2005. The Somalian Foreign Minister sought India’s assistance in diverse areas including reconstruction, education, fisheries and energy sector.

Trade Relations:

Trade relations with India continues through the private sectors. Trade Relations with others (as per 1994 estimate) Imports US$ 269 million chiefly petroleum products, foodstuff, construction material and machinery. Exports – US$ 130 million Live Animals, Fish, Hides and Banana.

ANALYSIS BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES.

As we have compared the economic indicators of the countries India and Somalia it is observed that the status of Somalia is far better than India. The business opportunity is more in Somalia due to the available resources in the country and also the technology available there.

CONCLUSION:

Both the countries are very different from each other but still both the countries are trying to have good relations through the trade. Basically they are dealing in wood, steel and iron items and they are focusing over it infact they are having deal over the trade of all these products. If they continue to have good economic relations and they can make good growth.

REFERENCE TO WEBSITES:-

• http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/somalia/
• http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/somalia-INTERNATIONAL-TRADE.html
• http://www.ckc.mofcom.gov.cn/ciweb/kcc/info/Article.jsp?a_no=68941&col_no=744

REFERENCE TO TABLES:-

• International Monetary Fund. International Financial Statistics Yearbook 1999.