Global invt wake up to an aggressive India

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The New York Stock Exchange is the center of the global financial world and India at 60 is all over New York City. You just have to walk around the city and you will hear about India.

The NYSE is not only the center of the global financial world, it is also the bedrock of a lot of Indian aspirations as well and we will probably see much more of India on the NYC over the next few years to come.

Infosys Co-Chairman Nandan Nilekani  thinks the euphoria about India at the NYSE is more than just feel-good. He said, "I think all this together is coming at the right time because India is increasingly seen as a great democracy, it has got great demographics and it's on a high growth path. So, I think it is the right time and I think it is creating a lot of excitement."

Sunil Mittal , Chairman and MD of Bharti Group said, "It is a proud moment for all of us. There is a large congregation of political leaders along with business leaders, we must not forget cultural heritage as well. So, a whole package of India is being presented to the world."

Excerpts from an interview with Nandan Nilekani and Sunil Mittal:

Q: How does it feel to be in New York, with this whole India at 60?

Sunil Mittal: It is a proud moment for all of us. There is a large congregation of political leaders along with business leaders, we must not forget cultural heritage as well. So, a whole package of India is being presented to the world.

Q: Is it just feel good or is it more than that?

Nandan Nilekani: I think it is more than that. First of all, I think this is a collaborative program. We have had 33 companies under the CII banner. We have had the Ministry of Tourism being extraordinarily supportive and several other Indian government departments. We have had eight partners in the US.

I think all this together is coming at the right time because India is increasingly seen as a great democracy, it has got great demographics and it's on a high growth path. So, I think it is the right time and I think it is creating a lot of excitement.

Q: What is the global investor fraternity thinking about it; you are already listed out here? Do you think there is a huge weight of expectations?

Nandan Nilekani: I think people are beginning to realise India's strategic advantages. The fact that it is a growing economy, the fact that it has young consumer demographics, the fact that it has a high savings rate, optimal use of capital, and the fact that there is several hundred billion dollar infrastructure investment plans. So, when they add up all this, I think they are getting a sense that this is going to be a very strong future emerging market.

Q: What do you do to the rupee, if this kind of money is going to continue to come to India?

Nandan Nilekani: We believe that we should not really focus too much on that. At the end of the day we will try to focus on what we can control, what we can manage. I think our focus is to improve our productivity, become more efficient, and provide more value. So we're really focused on that, not really think so much about the rupee.

Q: I speak to you more as an industry leader. Do you think India can generally grapple with the issue of steadily appreciating rupee well?

Nandan Nilekani: Certainly a steadily appreciating rupee, I think, has consequences for exporters who have a low margin industry. But I think it has a couple of advantages. One is that it helps in reducing inflation, and reducing the cost of imports, especially the cost of oil imports. Second, I think this pressure on the system will force productivity improvements whether it is better infrastructure, whether it is better food chains in agriculture or whatever. I think in that sense it is really going to tone up the Indian economy.

Q: What can India do looking outward? Do you think it is still looked upon as a very strong and robust services backend for the world?

Nandan Nilekani: Absolutely, we are talking of going beyond the back office. I think today from India, we are driving innovation, we are driving transformation, and we are really contributing to the strategic changes happening at the clients level. So I think it is really becoming a very sophisticated centre of providing intellectual capital and know-how to the world.

Q: What do you think is the biggest risk in India right now?

Nandan Nilekani: I think all the risks in India are internal. Externally, we have an absolutely unprecedented alignment of strategic gains. There are more internal issues, getting our governance improved, getting our infrastructure improved, getting education out of the way, improving healthcare. It is really all within.

Q: Just give us a sense of what you see from your own industry, telecom is a very important industry? Do you get the pulse that we are still climbing the curve or has the curve started plateau-ing a little bit?

Sunil Mittal: In percentage terms, they are never going to be heading to triple digit growths. The percentage growth is very low but the base is going to be very large, 200 million mobile customers. You know how to get another 200 million.

I think the question is - are we growing along? Yes, we are. In percentage terms you must start seeing some stress. We will not grow 70-80%. That is bound to happen, 7-8 million customers have come on the network now and equivalent to 4-5 million customers of yesterday because they spend much less.

Q: What is your sense for the next two-three years, is growth going to be still very robust?

Nandan Nilekani: I think the outsourcing story continues. The fundamentals are still very strong notwithstanding the issues of currency and all that. I think the world has recognised that India has a unique set of advantages in services, a 25-30 year history, many companies, English language, and sophisticated skills. So, I think the outsourcing story will continue. We are moving from just outsourcing to being transformational partners. That is a big change happening there.

Q: Does it feel proud to be at India at 60 in New York City?

Nandan Nilekani: It is great, the kind of response, the kind of attention we are getting. The people are beginning to see the strength of India as an economy as a culture, as a democracy, for its diversity, for its young people. I think it's a great feeling.

Q: Feels proud to be an Indian today?

Sunil Mittal: Possibly 10 years back we would have sat here, I don't know whether we would have got permission to sit here, the story would have been very different. Probably we might not have thought the way we have arrived today. India walks proudly now, Indian walks very tall and that's a very big achievement.

Nandan Nilekani: Less than 10 years since an Indian company listed in America. So a lot has happened in 10 years.