Explain the impact of globalisation over the last fifteen years on your own life, the

organisation you work for, and your country.

The term “Globalization” refers to integration of economies and societies through cross country flow of
information, ideas, technologies, goods, services, capital, finance and people. In India globalization
process started in early nineties with adoption of “New Economic Policy” aimed at creating a competitive
economic environment by removing the barriers to entry and growth of firms

Globalization in India had a favorable impact on the overall economic growth. With a GDP of $3tn, India
has become the twelfth-largest economy in the world or sixth largest in purchasing-power-parity terms.[9]
A growth rate of 9.4% during 2006-07[1] has been an achievement by the Indian economy, compared to 3%
growth during seventies, making India the fastest growing economy next to China. The direction of growth
has also changed from agriculture to service sector which constitutes 54% of the GDP [10]. India is ranked
10th among the world’s leading service exporters with a share of 2.8% of global service exports. [11] . FDI in
India has increased from around $100mn in 1990-91 to $19.4bn in 2006-07[1] and India's foreign-exchange
reserves have touched $249.69bn on 13thFeb2009 from paltry $1bn in 1990’s.[8]

Globalization has fueled the concept of e-Governance, which aims at providing good governance to the
citizens by utilizing the potentials of Information-Communications-Technology. India has crossed a

milestone by touching 60mn internet users in 2008, becoming the fourth highest in the world.[2] Internet
based projects such as e-chaupal has touched the lives of many Indian farmers by providing a platform for
e-commerce hub to sell their products at a profitable price & sharing cropping information. Through a
phenomenal telecom revolution India has crossed a landmark in number of mobile phone users touching
300mn users in 2008 from 1.0mn users in 1998. [3] Frustrating long waits to get a new telephone connection
and traveling miles to make ISD calls have become history.

Globalization has facilitated entry of new management tools, techniques and a spirit of competition into
our organizations. The reorganization of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited on British Aerospace lines and the
renaissance of Indian Railways are paragon of improved management and professionalism. Due to entry of
private sector banks there have been rapid transitions in banking sector also. ATMs, plastic money, online
trading and banking have made banking easier. The credit card system introduced by Citibank in India in
1998 has touched millions of lives with an anticipated figure of 73.4mn by 2010 [6]. Even the farmers in
rural areas are enjoying flexible credit facilities provided through “Kisan Credit Card Scheme”.

Indian pharmaceutical industry has been a successful player in global market with a share of 8% by world’s
production and 1.5% by value[4]. Further it fulfills around 70% of world's generic demand.[12] It has become
a major force in outsourcing clinical research with 80+ US-FDA approved manufacturing facilities.[13]
Recent amendment to patent laws has made India a favorable destination for research for global
pharmaceuticals industry. Novartis is spending Rs.5bn to establish the largest R&D centre in India [5].
Another important development, the acquisition of many foreign pharmaceutical firms or brands by Indian
firms reflects the increased competitiveness of the latter.

Nitai Chand Patra, MBA Applicant ID: 18958

Entry of large number of pharmaceutical MNCs due to liberalization has thrown up new challenges to our
business in form of high inventory cost. It has forced us to maintain much higher level of inventory to
accommodate wide range of products, resulting in lower profitability. To counter this, we are planning to
introduce the cash-n-carry concept i.e. in addition to selling drugs to individual customers the store will
cater to small and mid-size retailers by becoming a sub-wholesaler. Further, supported by FDI, Apollo
Hospitals, which owns the largest retail pharmacy chain in India, opened an outlet next to our retail
challenging our survivability. We braved the challenge by renovating the outlet and providing host of free
value added services such as free home delivery and health check-ups. It has further inspired us to go for
an ISO certification to become more organized and gain stronger consumer confidence.

The development in technology has inspired us to computerize our business operations and run it
efficiently and effectively. Further our internet-based e-chemist service initiative will enable us to cater
to distant parts of Orissa and increase our turnover. The reformed banking & insurance sector have
provided innovative products such as “Business Credit Cards” coupled with flexible repayment &
protective insurance options which have enabled us to avail easy credits for our business.

Inspired by the prospects provided by globalization, I joined our business to take it to new heights by
integrating my technical expertise with business. Further, during my undergraduate studies my visits to
newly started super markets and departmental stores in Bangalore induced a desire to enter into
business. Rising purchasing power and growing health consciousness of Indian population have induced me
to start healthcare malls to provide host of health services focused on beauty, health and wellness
products by bringing services such as super-specialty pharmacy, healthcare consultations, tele-medicine,
health boutiques, health club and nutrition focused restaurants under one roof.

The quality of life in last fifteen years has improved manifold. Globalization process has helped in
developing world-class physical and social infrastructure which are now the main engine of growth. We
have access to world-class healthcare facilities, communication technology, and quality education at our
doorsteps. Studying overseas for a person from middle class family like ours was a distant dream. Thanks
to liberalized migration and flexible credit policies those have helped us to realize our ambitions of
studying in prestigious institutes.

Globalization has propelled ventures such as Indo-US nuclear agreement, India-China joint bid for oil and
proposed Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline which have strengthen the economic & political bonding
between countries; however because of unified world-economy, the current global financial turmoil is
impeding India’s economic stability & growth.

Thus we find that the economic reforms have led to fiscal consolidation, employment creation, increase
in foreign exchange reserve and greater flow of foreign investment & technology towards India. Personally
I feel globalization has made our business competitive and provided the platform to redefine our vision.

Nitai Chand Patra, MBA Applicant ID: 18958

References:
[1] Reserve Bank of India, Annual Report for 2006-07
[2] Internet World Stats- http://www.internetworldstats.com/top20.htm

[3] Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), 25th Aug 2008 Press Release
[4] Aggarwal, A. (2006). “Strengthening the Export Competitiveness of firms in the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry”.
[5] http://www.drugresearcher.com/Research-management/Novartis-splashes-the-cash-in-Asia.
[6] Opportunities in Indian Banking Sector, Research Paper by Bharat Book Bureau, Jan 2008
[8] Reserve Bank of India, Weekly Statistical Supplement
[9] Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook, 2008
[10] Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Economy
[11] WTO's World Trade Report 2005 released in Geneva.
[12] IMS Research, India
[13] Indian Contract Research Manufacturing & Services ,2008, Research Paper by Research and Markets, USA

Nitai Chand Patra, MBA Applicant ID: 18958