Brand India is here. But are Indian Brands?

In these very columns I had written about the transition of Brand India. I had delved into the world’s acknowledgment of India’s tour de force and its need to combine hard and soft power to make a mark on the world stage. As one of the world’s fastest growing economies, India has certainly made the world sit up and take notice. The world has taken note of India Inc’s global expansion. But does the world know who the makers of Brand India are? More importantly, do India Inc’s power players enjoy brand power on the global stage?

This was the very reason we at Penn Schoen Berland, www.psbresearch.in conducted the global survey of Bizfluentials™ to find out the recall and recognition of the growing tribe on ‘Indian Multinationals’. We shortlisted 61 companies with a turnover of at least INR 1000 crores and had international listing or international operations. Titled Click to Read More

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We will need to leverage our ‘soft power’ to become a ‘super power’

“My government’s endeavour would be to create such an atmosphere in the country that …the talent in the country should work to prove that we are unparalleled in the world.” – Dr Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India

As an Indian, I have been witness to innumerable depictions of India - nation of snake charmers, an insular socialist economy and a resurgent economy. National image is a strategic choice rather than an accident and increasingly important with the increasing interface of the brand India with the world. So what should brand India be to the world? We looked back to look ahead and our study revealed three distinct phases of the evolution of brand India.

Colonial India: exotic, earthy and vibrant with a nationalistic and multicultural personality. However, it remained the land of the snake charmer.

Independent India: socialist, agrarian, austere and largely socialistic. It was seen as narrow minded and Click to Read More

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