India: An Automobile Hub in the Making
Part 1
Prior to 1991, India had protective investment policies that prevented foreign direct investment to flow into the country. For the financial stability, India depended on the bilateral loans from politically closer countries. Foreign firms were allowed to have equity less than forty percent and that too were overlooked by government authorities. The laws were against propagation of foreign brands, but Indianised hybrid brands were allowed for example Hero-Honda, Maruti –Suzuki, etc. Because of the restrictive trade and investment practices, India was not connected to technologies available in the developed countries. Also, India lost many labor –intensive ...