India

In November of 2010, President Barack Obama stated that the relationship between India and the United States would be a “defining partnership of the 21st century.” India’s diversity is immense: over 1 billion people, 18 main languages, 844 dialects and six main religions. India’s rise as a global super power is no longer in doubt. But important questions remain as to how India’s legacy of caste, its multicultural mix and a crushing burden of poverty will impact India’s economic future.

India is an ancient country with over 4,000 years of legend and history. Located in Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan, its terrain is marked by plains in the south, rolling plains along the Ganges, arid deserts in the West and the majestic Himalayan Mountains in the North. Eighty percent of the country is Hindu, but India is also the birthplace of Buddhism and contains a growing Muslim population.

India has capitalized on its large numbers of well-educated people, skilled in the English language, to become a major exporter of software and other outsourcing services. It is fast developing into an open-market economy and has been growing at a rate of seven percent (7%) per year since 1997. It is second only to the US in the number of cell phones in use by its residents. At present, India exports goods and services worth over $21 billion to the U.S. While it is a very common practice for companies from the West to engage markets in India, the focus is overwhelmingly on Mumbai and New Delhi. Enormous potential for global relationships exists outside of these well-known regions.

Most major airlines fly into Delhi. Flying time form London is approximately nine hours. In the Diplomat district of New Delhi, we recommend Hotel Maurya Sheraton (Hotel-Maurya-Sheraton.Tripzen.com), or Nehru Place Intercontinental, (intercontinental.com) which are both geared toward the business traveler.