The Indian market, just like most others, has been on a developing trend since the 1980s. During this time, the market was being controlled by bureaucrats and people who had acquired licenses under stringent conditions. However, with the various policy changes that the Indian government has since implemented, people can now make proper investments and seize the available opportunities (Patel, 2005). As such, there are various business opportunities that have sprouted over the years after the government took proper control of the Indian market. Conversely, India also has various risks, which still pose a threat to businesses and that require one to be meticulous prior to setting shop in the country.
Statistics reveal that India has undergone a tremendous transformation with heightened domestic demands, increased foreign asset investments, which have all led to a 7% economic growth (Deloitte, no date). Sequentially, various sectors in the country have opened up for successful opportunities such as banking services have proved to be one of the promising changes in the country. The government has so far denationalized several of the banks and lets the private sector set up some of them. In turn, the banking services offered in the country are of higher quality than they were before the government took this step.
The pharmaceutical sector is yet another area that has also improved in terms of operations and amount of revenues. The Indian pharmaceutical manufacturers have improvised ways of manufacturing generic drugs and patenting them for the next 20 years. In turn, this has provided the manufacturers extended ownership of drugs and opportunities to rake in hefty revenues upon sale. The entertainment industry is also proving to be a successful sector that investors can rely on to make huge profits; thus, these are all opportunities that India has and provides to interested people (Sathyamurthi, 2012).
Indeed, India displays various opportunities in the world of business, but it also possesses various risks that affect investments in different ways. Currently, India is on a recovery path with the government pushing for reforms that are to generate business opportunities in the country. As much as this is working to the advantage of business ventures, the completion process is taking too long and slowing down developments. Companies may be willing to start various business ventures in India, but in case there are no definite policies to act as guides in the setup process, they may fail to commence work. Thus, proper policies in India hinder businesses from venturing into the market because the startup risk is too high due to lack of no proper guidelines (Ministry of Communications and IT, no date).
India is a country facing high levels of illiteracy, which affects the labor market available in the country. People’s education level matters in determining the probable quality of work they will produce. It will be difficult to source a functional workforce in a country full of illiterate people to work for a company. Thus, many companies end up outsourcing labor from foreign markets to meet the quality demand of their products. Hence, there is a great risk in starting a business in India because of the dysfunctional labor market (Heide, 2008: 19).
References
Deloitte. (no date). Capitalizing on opportunities in India and China. [Online] [Accessed on 16 November 2013] http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_CA/ca/services/financialadvisory/forensicanddisputeservices/c3b91af403913210VgnVCM200000bb42f00aRCRD.htm
Heide, M. (2008). Opportunities and risks in India and China. Norderstedt: GRIN Verlag.
Ministry of Communications and IT. (no date). Business risks. [Online] [Accessed on 16 November 2013] http://business.gov.in/growing_business/business_risks.php
Patel, D. (2005). India: Opportunities and risks in a changing society. [Online] [Accessed on 16 November 2013] http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/InternationalPrograms/CIBER/GlobalForumReports/Documents/India_Opportunities_Risks.pdf
Sathyamurthi, V. (2012). The risks of doing business in India. The Wall Street Journal. [Online] [Accessed on 16 November 2013] http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2012/10/31/the-risks-of-doing-business-in-india/
