Market Opportunity
India is the second largest country behind China, with an estimated population at more than 1.14 billion. Ranked by the exchange rate of the United States Dollar, the Indian economy is the twelfth largest in the world. India's vast and growing market presents itself as a huge competitor in the global market.
During one of the greatest recessions this world has experienced, India is weathering the economic storm to post robust growth numbers in all sectors leading to impressive growth in its GDP. According to the CIA Factbook, India had a GDP of US $1.237 trillion in 2008, achieving 6.6% GDP growth. The per capita income of India is 4,542 US Dollars in the context of Purchasing Power Parity. Data from the Ministry of Finance shows Indian exports grew by 7.3% in dollar terms during April-February 2008-09 while its imports increased by 19.1% in April-February 2008-09. Unemployment rate currently stands at 6.8% from 7.2% in 2007 with an inflation rate of 7.8%.
The Indian economy has been stable and reliable in recent times, while in the last few years it's experienced a positive upward growth trend. It has consistently produced 8-9% annual growth rate which is supported by a huge inflow of foreign funds, growing reserves in the foreign exchange sector, both an IT and real estate boom, and a thriving capital market.
Based on statistics from the Department of State, there is a large and growing middle class of more than 50 million Indians with disposable income ranging from 200,000 to 1,000,000 rupees per year (4166-20,833 USD). Because of the weakening of the US dollar for the last two years, Indian Rupee has steadily appreciated vis-à-vis US dollar with 0.020837 USD equal to 1 Indian Rupee (x-rates.com).
Best Industry Segments
The economy of India is as diverse as it is large, with a number of major sectors including manufacturing industries, agriculture, textiles and handicrafts, and services. Data shows from economywatch.com that agriculture is a major component of the Indian economy, as over 66% of the Indian population earns its livelihood from this area. As reported by CIA Factbook, major imports are textiles and ready-made garments, Internet-enabled services, agricultural and related products, gems and jewelry, leather products, and chemicals.
Furthermore, the Indian speaking population in India is growing by the day, which means that India has become the center of outsourcing activities for some of the major economies of the world including the United Kingdom and the United States. Outsourcing to India has been primarily in the areas of technical support and customer services.
Regulatory and Tariff Landscape
Tariff spikes in sensitive categories, including agriculture, and incremental progress on economic reforms still hinder foreign access to India's vast and growing market. According to export.gov, on April 1, 2007, India lowered the tariff applied to most non-agricultural goods from 12.5 to 10 percent. It also lowered the tariff on medical equipment from 12.5 to 7.5 percent. Since India's economy thrives on agriculture, there are many laws that govern the food processing sector. The food laws in India are enforced by the Director General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India (GOI). The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA), 1954 focuses primarily on the establishment of regulatory standards for primary food products.
Online Marketing
Signaling a gradual growth, the total Internet population of India for the year 2008 stands strongly at 81 million Internet users estimates internetworldstats.com, placing 4th place globally after the United States, China, and Japan. Over the span of the past 8 years (2000-2008), India has experienced a 1,520% growth rate. Yet, the penetration of Internet is only 7.1%, notably lower compared to the other top twenty countries.
Many of India's biggest companies are flourishing in the global IT market, and its executives are becoming increasingly influential. India, it would seem, is well placed to become a major force in the online world. Still, as reported by BBC News, compared to the mobile phone market, where some 350 million people are using wireless handsets, and it is clear that the online market has a long way to go before it reaches saturation.
Online Language Preferences
Although there are fifteen official languages in India, Hindi is the most widely spoken and primary tongue of 41% of the population. Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language. English is used extensively in business and administration and holds the status of a subsidiary official language; those able to speak English usually received higher education.
JuxtConsult reports users of vernacular language websites have increase to 34% from last year's 12%. English is the most preferred language of reading for only 28% of Internet users, which indicates the potential for vernacular language content. With English rapidly gaining popularity in India, we can expect to see an increase usage of English-based websites by the Indian population.
Search Engine Profile
Data from a recent comScore release shows Google India (Google.co.in) reigns as the top search engine among online Indians. Google follows at second spot with Yahoo, Ask.com, and Rediff ranked 3rd, 4th, and 5th.
Summary
One of the major challenges before the Indian economy is to remove the economic inequalities. Although poverty still poses an issue, these levels have dropped considerably in recent years. However, with growth and advances in its economy, services, and technology, India is gradually emerging as a world leader. All of these positive changes have resulted in establishing the Indian economy as one of the largest and fastest growing in the world.Based on the current and future potential of the market, Princeton Consulting International ranks India as a Tier I market for global online market opportunity.
Ana Lam is a Global Markets Research Analyst at Global eMarketer (GeM). GeM is an international business development and marketing consulting firm that helps business expand globally from preparation, to implementation through global online campaign management.
India is the second largest country behind China, with an estimated population at more than 1.14 billion. Ranked by the exchange rate of the United States Dollar, the Indian economy is the twelfth largest in the world. India's vast and growing market presents itself as a huge competitor in the global market.
During one of the greatest recessions this world has experienced, India is weathering the economic storm to post robust growth numbers in all sectors leading to impressive growth in its GDP. According to the CIA Factbook, India had a GDP of US $1.237 trillion in 2008, achieving 6.6% GDP growth. The per capita income of India is 4,542 US Dollars in the context of Purchasing Power Parity. Data from the Ministry of Finance shows Indian exports grew by 7.3% in dollar terms during April-February 2008-09 while its imports increased by 19.1% in April-February 2008-09. Unemployment rate currently stands at 6.8% from 7.2% in 2007 with an inflation rate of 7.8%.
The Indian economy has been stable and reliable in recent times, while in the last few years it's experienced a positive upward growth trend. It has consistently produced 8-9% annual growth rate which is supported by a huge inflow of foreign funds, growing reserves in the foreign exchange sector, both an IT and real estate boom, and a thriving capital market.
Based on statistics from the Department of State, there is a large and growing middle class of more than 50 million Indians with disposable income ranging from 200,000 to 1,000,000 rupees per year (4166-20,833 USD). Because of the weakening of the US dollar for the last two years, Indian Rupee has steadily appreciated vis-à-vis US dollar with 0.020837 USD equal to 1 Indian Rupee (x-rates.com).
Best Industry Segments
The economy of India is as diverse as it is large, with a number of major sectors including manufacturing industries, agriculture, textiles and handicrafts, and services. Data shows from economywatch.com that agriculture is a major component of the Indian economy, as over 66% of the Indian population earns its livelihood from this area. As reported by CIA Factbook, major imports are textiles and ready-made garments, Internet-enabled services, agricultural and related products, gems and jewelry, leather products, and chemicals.
Furthermore, the Indian speaking population in India is growing by the day, which means that India has become the center of outsourcing activities for some of the major economies of the world including the United Kingdom and the United States. Outsourcing to India has been primarily in the areas of technical support and customer services.
Regulatory and Tariff Landscape
Tariff spikes in sensitive categories, including agriculture, and incremental progress on economic reforms still hinder foreign access to India's vast and growing market. According to export.gov, on April 1, 2007, India lowered the tariff applied to most non-agricultural goods from 12.5 to 10 percent. It also lowered the tariff on medical equipment from 12.5 to 7.5 percent. Since India's economy thrives on agriculture, there are many laws that govern the food processing sector. The food laws in India are enforced by the Director General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India (GOI). The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA), 1954 focuses primarily on the establishment of regulatory standards for primary food products.
Online Marketing
Signaling a gradual growth, the total Internet population of India for the year 2008 stands strongly at 81 million Internet users estimates internetworldstats.com, placing 4th place globally after the United States, China, and Japan. Over the span of the past 8 years (2000-2008), India has experienced a 1,520% growth rate. Yet, the penetration of Internet is only 7.1%, notably lower compared to the other top twenty countries.
Many of India's biggest companies are flourishing in the global IT market, and its executives are becoming increasingly influential. India, it would seem, is well placed to become a major force in the online world. Still, as reported by BBC News, compared to the mobile phone market, where some 350 million people are using wireless handsets, and it is clear that the online market has a long way to go before it reaches saturation.
Online Language Preferences
Although there are fifteen official languages in India, Hindi is the most widely spoken and primary tongue of 41% of the population. Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language. English is used extensively in business and administration and holds the status of a subsidiary official language; those able to speak English usually received higher education.
JuxtConsult reports users of vernacular language websites have increase to 34% from last year's 12%. English is the most preferred language of reading for only 28% of Internet users, which indicates the potential for vernacular language content. With English rapidly gaining popularity in India, we can expect to see an increase usage of English-based websites by the Indian population.
Search Engine Profile
Data from a recent comScore release shows Google India (Google.co.in) reigns as the top search engine among online Indians. Google follows at second spot with Yahoo, Ask.com, and Rediff ranked 3rd, 4th, and 5th.
Summary
One of the major challenges before the Indian economy is to remove the economic inequalities. Although poverty still poses an issue, these levels have dropped considerably in recent years. However, with growth and advances in its economy, services, and technology, India is gradually emerging as a world leader. All of these positive changes have resulted in establishing the Indian economy as one of the largest and fastest growing in the world.Based on the current and future potential of the market, Princeton Consulting International ranks India as a Tier I market for global online market opportunity.
Ana Lam is a Global Markets Research Analyst at Global eMarketer (GeM). GeM is an international business development and marketing consulting firm that helps business expand globally from preparation, to implementation through global online campaign management.
Market Opportunity
India is the second largest country behind China, with an estimated population at more than 1.14 billion. Ranked by the exchange rate of the United States Dollar, the Indian economy is the twelfth largest in the world. India's vast and growing market presents itself as a huge competitor in the global market.
During one of the greatest recessions this world has experienced, India is weathering the economic storm to post robust growth numbers in all sectors leading to impressive growth in its GDP. According to the CIA Factbook, India had a GDP of US $1.237 trillion in 2008, achieving 6.6% GDP growth. The per capita income of India is 4,542 US Dollars in the context of Purchasing Power Parity. Data from the Ministry of Finance shows Indian exports grew by 7.3% in dollar terms during April-February 2008-09 while its imports increased by 19.1% in April-February 2008-09. Unemployment rate currently stands at 6.8% from 7.2% in 2007 with an inflation rate of 7.8%.
The Indian economy has been stable and reliable in recent times, while in the last few years it's experienced a positive upward growth trend. It has consistently produced 8-9% annual growth rate which is supported by a huge inflow of foreign funds, growing reserves in the foreign exchange sector, both an IT and real estate boom, and a thriving capital market.
Based on statistics from the Department of State, there is a large and growing middle class of more than 50 million Indians with disposable income ranging from 200,000 to 1,000,000 rupees per year (4166-20,833 USD). Because of the weakening of the US dollar for the last two years, Indian Rupee has steadily appreciated vis-à-vis US dollar with 0.020837 USD equal to 1 Indian Rupee (x-rates.com).
Best Industry Segments
The economy of India is as diverse as it is large, with a number of major sectors including manufacturing industries, agriculture, textiles and handicrafts, and services. Data shows from economywatch.com that agriculture is a major component of the Indian economy, as over 66% of the Indian population earns its livelihood from this area. As reported by CIA Factbook, major imports are textiles and ready-made garments, Internet-enabled services, agricultural and related products, gems and jewelry, leather products, and chemicals.
Furthermore, the Indian speaking population in India is growing by the day, which means that India has become the center of outsourcing activities for some of the major economies of the world including the United Kingdom and the United States. Outsourcing to India has been primarily in the areas of technical support and customer services.
Regulatory and Tariff Landscape
Tariff spikes in sensitive categories, including agriculture, and incremental progress on economic reforms still hinder foreign access to India's vast and growing market. According to export.gov, on April 1, 2007, India lowered the tariff applied to most non-agricultural goods from 12.5 to 10 percent. It also lowered the tariff on medical equipment from 12.5 to 7.5 percent. Since India's economy thrives on agriculture, there are many laws that govern the food processing sector. The food laws in India are enforced by the Director General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India (GOI). The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA), 1954 focuses primarily on the establishment of regulatory standards for primary food products.
Online Marketing
Signaling a gradual growth, the total Internet population of India for the year 2008 stands strongly at 81 million Internet users estimates internetworldstats.com, placing 4th place globally after the United States, China, and Japan. Over the span of the past 8 years (2000-2008), India has experienced a 1,520% growth rate. Yet, the penetration of Internet is only 7.1%, notably lower compared to the other top twenty countries.
Many of India's biggest companies are flourishing in the global IT market, and its executives are becoming increasingly influential. India, it would seem, is well placed to become a major force in the online world. Still, as reported by BBC News, compared to the mobile phone market, where some 350 million people are using wireless handsets, and it is clear that the online market has a long way to go before it reaches saturation.
Online Language Preferences
Although there are fifteen official languages in India, Hindi is the most widely spoken and primary tongue of 41% of the population. Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language. English is used extensively in business and administration and holds the status of a subsidiary official language; those able to speak English usually received higher education.
JuxtConsult reports users of vernacular language websites have increase to 34% from last year's 12%. English is the most preferred language of reading for only 28% of Internet users, which indicates the potential for vernacular language content. With English rapidly gaining popularity in India, we can expect to see an increase usage of English-based websites by the Indian population.
Search Engine Profile
Data from a recent comScore release shows Google India (Google.co.in) reigns as the top search engine among online Indians. Google follows at second spot with Yahoo, Ask.com, and Rediff ranked 3rd, 4th, and 5th.
Summary
One of the major challenges before the Indian economy is to remove the economic inequalities. Although poverty still poses an issue, these levels have dropped considerably in recent years. However, with growth and advances in its economy, services, and technology, India is gradually emerging as a world leader. All of these positive changes have resulted in establishing the Indian economy as one of the largest and fastest growing in the world.Based on the current and future potential of the market, Princeton Consulting International ranks India as a Tier I market for global online market opportunity.
Ana Lam is a Global Markets Research Analyst at Global eMarketer (GeM). GeM is an international business development and marketing consulting firm that helps business expand globally from preparation, to implementation through global online campaign management.
India is the second largest country behind China, with an estimated population at more than 1.14 billion. Ranked by the exchange rate of the United States Dollar, the Indian economy is the twelfth largest in the world. India's vast and growing market presents itself as a huge competitor in the global market.
During one of the greatest recessions this world has experienced, India is weathering the economic storm to post robust growth numbers in all sectors leading to impressive growth in its GDP. According to the CIA Factbook, India had a GDP of US $1.237 trillion in 2008, achieving 6.6% GDP growth. The per capita income of India is 4,542 US Dollars in the context of Purchasing Power Parity. Data from the Ministry of Finance shows Indian exports grew by 7.3% in dollar terms during April-February 2008-09 while its imports increased by 19.1% in April-February 2008-09. Unemployment rate currently stands at 6.8% from 7.2% in 2007 with an inflation rate of 7.8%.
The Indian economy has been stable and reliable in recent times, while in the last few years it's experienced a positive upward growth trend. It has consistently produced 8-9% annual growth rate which is supported by a huge inflow of foreign funds, growing reserves in the foreign exchange sector, both an IT and real estate boom, and a thriving capital market.
Based on statistics from the Department of State, there is a large and growing middle class of more than 50 million Indians with disposable income ranging from 200,000 to 1,000,000 rupees per year (4166-20,833 USD). Because of the weakening of the US dollar for the last two years, Indian Rupee has steadily appreciated vis-à-vis US dollar with 0.020837 USD equal to 1 Indian Rupee (x-rates.com).
Best Industry Segments
The economy of India is as diverse as it is large, with a number of major sectors including manufacturing industries, agriculture, textiles and handicrafts, and services. Data shows from economywatch.com that agriculture is a major component of the Indian economy, as over 66% of the Indian population earns its livelihood from this area. As reported by CIA Factbook, major imports are textiles and ready-made garments, Internet-enabled services, agricultural and related products, gems and jewelry, leather products, and chemicals.
Furthermore, the Indian speaking population in India is growing by the day, which means that India has become the center of outsourcing activities for some of the major economies of the world including the United Kingdom and the United States. Outsourcing to India has been primarily in the areas of technical support and customer services.
Regulatory and Tariff Landscape
Tariff spikes in sensitive categories, including agriculture, and incremental progress on economic reforms still hinder foreign access to India's vast and growing market. According to export.gov, on April 1, 2007, India lowered the tariff applied to most non-agricultural goods from 12.5 to 10 percent. It also lowered the tariff on medical equipment from 12.5 to 7.5 percent. Since India's economy thrives on agriculture, there are many laws that govern the food processing sector. The food laws in India are enforced by the Director General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India (GOI). The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA), 1954 focuses primarily on the establishment of regulatory standards for primary food products.
Online Marketing
Signaling a gradual growth, the total Internet population of India for the year 2008 stands strongly at 81 million Internet users estimates internetworldstats.com, placing 4th place globally after the United States, China, and Japan. Over the span of the past 8 years (2000-2008), India has experienced a 1,520% growth rate. Yet, the penetration of Internet is only 7.1%, notably lower compared to the other top twenty countries.
Many of India's biggest companies are flourishing in the global IT market, and its executives are becoming increasingly influential. India, it would seem, is well placed to become a major force in the online world. Still, as reported by BBC News, compared to the mobile phone market, where some 350 million people are using wireless handsets, and it is clear that the online market has a long way to go before it reaches saturation.
Online Language Preferences
Although there are fifteen official languages in India, Hindi is the most widely spoken and primary tongue of 41% of the population. Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language. English is used extensively in business and administration and holds the status of a subsidiary official language; those able to speak English usually received higher education.
JuxtConsult reports users of vernacular language websites have increase to 34% from last year's 12%. English is the most preferred language of reading for only 28% of Internet users, which indicates the potential for vernacular language content. With English rapidly gaining popularity in India, we can expect to see an increase usage of English-based websites by the Indian population.
Search Engine Profile
Data from a recent comScore release shows Google India (Google.co.in) reigns as the top search engine among online Indians. Google follows at second spot with Yahoo, Ask.com, and Rediff ranked 3rd, 4th, and 5th.
Summary
One of the major challenges before the Indian economy is to remove the economic inequalities. Although poverty still poses an issue, these levels have dropped considerably in recent years. However, with growth and advances in its economy, services, and technology, India is gradually emerging as a world leader. All of these positive changes have resulted in establishing the Indian economy as one of the largest and fastest growing in the world.Based on the current and future potential of the market, Princeton Consulting International ranks India as a Tier I market for global online market opportunity.
Ana Lam is a Global Markets Research Analyst at Global eMarketer (GeM). GeM is an international business development and marketing consulting firm that helps business expand globally from preparation, to implementation through global online campaign management.
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