In The News

India Tries to Contain Tempest Over Soft Drink Safety

Amy Waldman August 23, 2003
Coca-Cola and Pepsi are teaming up in India to restore consumer confidence. New Delhi's busy INA market place – which sells everything from Oreos cookie made in China to "Hot Eats" of North India – had posters proclaiming the safety of Cola products. The campaign comes after a respected NGO issued a report stating that 12 leading soft drink brands – all owned by Coca-Cola or...

A Head Trip: Indian Hair Finds Parts in Hollywood

Julia Angwin August 21, 2003
After the birth of a long-awaited son or the recovery of an ill spouse, Hindu women often visit a temple and shave their long locks as a gesture of thanks. Few suspect that their sacrificed hair may end up on the head of a European or American woman, possibly even a Hollywood actress. Yet temples across India make tidy profits selling the hair of pilgrims to foreign companies that make hair...

Goodbye America, Hello India

Roger Mitton August 19, 2003
The dotcom boom made California the premier destination of Indians coming to the US. Now that the bubble has burst, however, more and more Indians are reversing their trip, leaving sunny, but jobless California and seeking employment in India. Many of these highly-skilled, expatriate engineers believe that their return home is temporary. "They think they will return later when things get...

Indian Companies Are Adding Western Flavor

Saritha Rai August 19, 2003
American corporations are increasingly sending service-oriented, knowledge-intensive jobs to India. The new employees are well-educated, English-speaking, and fully prepared to answer any technical question an American customer might ask. Just don't expect them to know how to sip wine at a business party or the appropriate way to greet an American colleague. Such subtle, Western, cultural...

Want H1B visa? Come to Gujarat

Tina Parekh August 18, 2003
Many Indians with cash and the right connections are finding it easy to obtain visas – legal or otherwise. According to this article in The Times of India, being denied a visa does not necessarily mean that Indian youths must give up their dreams of working in London or New York. Rather, they are bypassing the checks imposed by immigration authorities and entering "the murky world of fake...

'Hello, this is India. Can I help you?'

Daniel Sneider August 10, 2003
The instantaneous nature of modern communication has allowed the customer service industry to follow its counterparts in manufacturing and move overseas. With numbers that are almost doubling annually, Indians are coming to work in call centers to answer questions about bills, credit cards, and insurance. American companies in particular are eager to take advantage of a cheap, highly educated,...

Closing Doors to Growth

July 8, 2003
Having the most closed markets in the world is nothing to be proud of, this editorial in an influential Indian business daily maintains. According to a recent World Trade Organization report, less globalized countries saw per capita income growth just 0.9 percent per annum, while those that were highly globalized saw annual incomes grow by 4.3 percent. Therefore, the editorial argues, if India...