From the UK-India dynamic and India’s wider integration with the global economy to FDI reviews, IGB remains the reliable source of views and analysis in a reinvigorated avatar, explains India Inc. Founder & CEO Manoj Ladwa.
A few years ago, when I launched ‘India Global Business’ and ‘India Investment Journal’ magazines with a small skeletal team, I was clear in my mind that I wanted to develop a world class editorial product that would provide cutting edge views and analysis on outbound foreign direct investment (FDI) from India as well as on the more traditional inbound inflows into the country.
That is why, despite being only a small start-up, we have always had sky high ambitions. We have always benchmarked ourselves against the best in the world, conducted intensive audits and gap analyses on where we are falling short and then tried to ensure that we don’t repeat our mistakes.
It has been a rollercoaster ride so far. When we look back at where we started or look sideways at other start-ups of similar vintage, we sometimes pat ourselves on the back for having run the marathon well but sober down when we look ahead and see the finishing line is not even in sight.
New strides
Through this hard but enjoyable journey, only one thing kept us going, providing fresh oxygen whenever the tank seemed to be nearing empty – your unstinted support and encouragement.
We wouldn’t have come so far, and couldn’t have dreamt of going further without your patronage. We seek your continued backing as we now prepare to change gears and change lanes.
Yes, dear readers, we are turning fortnightly from February 23. Yes, you read that right. From now on, your favourite India-focused inbound and outbound investment magazine will come to you twice a month. One of these editions will focus mainly on the UK and the other on the world at large.
There’s more: We will no longer get you IGB and IIJ in alternate editions. Instead, every edition, while focusing mainly on outbound FDI from India, will also continue to feed your appetite for news on inbound FDI into the country.
So, that means that instead of bringing you news on inbound and outbound investments once every two months, we will do so once every two weeks. And instead of six issues of each, you will now receive 24 issues every year.
And yes, we will continue to design and bring to you our quirky, slightly iconoclastic but very tastefully executed covers with their caricatures of the movers and shakers of the Indian economy and the world that many of you, in emails and in your personal interactions with my colleagues and me, have often labelled iconic.
Road ahead
Why, you may ask, are we tinkering with and changing a formula that has worked well for us since the beginning?
There’s a very simple answer to that. As the Indian economy picks up pace following the much criticised but very necessary demonetisation exercise, which had sucked out 86 per cent currency out of circulation, and the disruptive but equally necessary rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) – and transparency increases – it will integrate further with the global economy and increasingly become an integral part of the global supply chain.
These will, without a doubt, lead to massive increase in FDI flows, both into and out of the country. As we have reported in some of our 2017 editions of ‘India Global Business’, Indian companies are increasingly buying up mineral assets and tapping other sources of raw materials via a non-exploitative partnership model in Africa and South East Asia even as they expand their presence rapidly in the UK, the rest of Europe and the US.
Just look at the business directories of London, New York or any other major financial and business centres in the West and you will find ever increasing numbers of Indian companies in these listings.
Rarely does a week pass when an Indian information technology, pharmaceuticals, financial services and manufacturing company does not acquire some small or medium company in Europe and the US to plug some critical gap in their product portfolio or technology value chain.
This process will only intensify in the days, months and years to come as the Indian economy moves into the projected 8 per cent-plus GDP growth trajectory and Europe and the US recover from the long-drawn and sticky slowdown.
I believe this is the right time to expand our reach, coverage and frequency. My home, the United Kingdom, is going through the messy process of finalising the fine print of its divorce with the European Union (EU). It is seeking fresh opportunities in a world where protectionism is growing.
Greater and closer economic ties with India (and with other large trading nations) is the obvious way forward for Her Majesty’s Government. The scope for cooperation between the two governments is immense and the opportunities for businesses in the UK and India to expand into the other country by acquiring synergistic assets are massive.
The prospects are tantalisingly large and I am confident that these two great nations, the UK and the land of my ancestors, will rise to the occasion to make full use of the potential at hand.
The UK-India dynamic
This – closer cooperation and warmer ties between India and the UK – is a topic that is particularly close to my heart and this is often reflected in the editorial choices we make at India Inc. We have closely followed and reported on the many small and large steps the two countries have taken towards that shared goal and, I dare say, in small measure, even contributed a little to the process. The new IGB is designed to spearhead the conversation on the bilateral relationship, while India Inc. plans UK-India Week 2018 to push the envelope on what these two great nations can achieve together. The first-of-it’s-kind event in June is designed to bring together thought leaders, key figures and power players in the UK-India corridor, many of whom are avid IGB readers, to debate, discuss and decide what the future of the bilateral relationship will look like.
You can be rest assured that the revamped fortnightly magazine will stay true to the DNA of its previous avatars and closely track all these developments as they unfold and bring you inside news and opinions from the people who are actually taking the decisions and keeping the wheels of the global economy running.
You will remain, as always, at the centre of our vision and we will welcome your valued suggestions and comments on how to make the new-look ‘India Global Business’ more incisive, more relevant to your information needs and more responsive to the dynamics of the fast changing market.
As we set out on the next stage of our journey towards becoming a respected and widely heard global media voice, all of us here at India Inc. will hope to carry on receiving your continued indulgence.
Do log in next week for the launch of the inaugural edition of the revamped ‘India Global Business’ magazine.
