How will India strike a balance between maintaining its unique culture and competing in a global economy?
Jagdish: The unique “Indian culture”, if there is one, does not come in the way of competing in the global economy. Many traditions within India encourage entrepreneurship and have a value system that accepts, if not fosters, a pragmatic approach to business success and competition. Indeed, “Balance” between the material and the spiritual is intrinsic to the many traditions and sub cultures within India. From the point of view of doing business in India, there are certain aspects of “Indian culture” that we need to be sensitive to. First, of course, is the huge diversity across the country in terms of lifestyle preferences, approach and attitude auspicious periods of purchase in the North often turn out to be the most inauspicious ones for Indians in the South or the West! An underlying homogeneity or cohesion, that one may take for granted in many societies around the world, is clearly missing here. This could sometimes be a struggle for a marketer. If any generalizations be made, the
