Indian economy performed better than the estimated 7.2 percent for the last fiscal. Government released data on Monday which showed that Indian economy grew by 7.4 percent in 2009-10. The major reason cited for this improvement is the double digit expansion in manufacturing sector and average performance by farm sector. Improvement in customer spending and business investments and rural economy growth despite the worst drought has enabled India to grow at its fastest pace in nearly two years.

Indian economy grew by 8.6 percent in the fourth quarter with good governance and consumer spending. According to Central Statistical Organization (CSO), this growth is attributed to growth in manufacturing by 16.3 percent and mining and quarrying by 14 percent. During the fourth quarter, the industrial growth also increased at about 13.3 percent while services sector witnessed a growth of 8.4 percent and agriculture grew by 0.7 percent.

According to finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, “It is a quite encouraging …so last quarter is 8.6 and about 7.9 was second quarter…3rd Quarter saw adverse impact of monsoon…on the whole it will be confirmed that it will be 7.2 plus.” Though investment activity has increased in the fourth quarter some doubt if the growth will support the forecasted economic growth of 8.5 percent for the year ahead. But the government is hopeful that a thrust in the infrastructure would keep the industrial growth and is also depending on a good monsoon to add on to the growth.

With the economy expanding at its current rate, the demand for consumer electronics has increased manifold. This has also helped expand the domestic market for these electronic items. In India, Japanese companies are regarded highest, especially when it comes to electronics items. Seeing this as an opportunity, Panasonic the Japanese electronics giant, has started to plan on focusing on India as a primary market.

Panasonic is planning to build its base in Haryana, with a manufacturing unit and a facility for research and development. The investment for this project is going to be about $250 million.
Today, Panasonic has a global turnover of about $150 billion every year, out of which about 50% of its revenues come from India alone. After building its headquarters in India, Panasonic is estimating that the revenue will rise by more than 5 times in the next two years. Also, since the Indian market is extremely sensitive to changes in prices, the company will not only have an appropriate range of products, but these products will also be priced in a manner that they will be affordable and comparable to other big brands.

The marketing and branding strategy of the company will also change to woo the Indian consumers.

The threat of poaching is very real for India Inc as the economy shows signs of recovery. With the economic recovery, India Inc is on a hiring spree again. Of course, this makes the threat of poaching very real for most organisations. Companies are therefore, now trying to put in succession plans to safeguard the employees and the talent that they have built up over the years.

The succession plans of most companies are targeted towards the top and the middle management. The potential leadership blueprint is being prepared in companies like LG, Dabur, Maruti Suzuki, Indian Oil and more. This way, they will be able to offer more lucrative offers to existing employees, thereby preventing attrition.

LG has already formed a five year career plan for all their employees. Structured trainings and initiatives of development will be forwarded to not only the critical talent but to the entire workforce. This will not only help them nurture their talent but also allow them to build loyalties.

The four-day biennial India Defense Exhibition, DefExpo 2010, witnessed fierce competition from key players in the global arms market to corner a sizable chunk of the expanding Indian defense budget allocation. India is expected to increase its defense expenditure to $80-100 billion in the next decade.

A K Antony, India’s Minister for Defense said that he expects the defense spending to grow from the present 2.5% of GDP in the coming years. He attributed this hike to the robustness of the Indian economy. Moreover, the Indian military need to find replacements for the Soviet equipments acquired three to four decades back.

However, Mr. Antony stressed the need for self-reliance in the field. He clarified government’s stand when he added, “We want to produce equipment for the armed forces internally, domestically.”

This revelation has prompted many international arms traders to search for partners locally. At present, international players bag a whopping 70% of India’s arms purchase. Russia retains the top spot, though the slide started with the collapse of USSR.

The other key players are Israel, which occupies the second spot and the USA, which is aiming to consolidate its position. Both are present at the defense exhibition in full force, with Israel occupying the most floor space and the USA having the maximum number of participants. Boeing is actively campaigning for the purchase of its fleet to replace the Russian MiG-21.

Conspicuous by their absence at the exhibition are neighbors China and Pakistan, with whom India had fought wars in the past. Both were not invited to participate. A total of 650 arms merchants from 35 countries have set up stalls at the exhibition held in New Delhi.