How far has India come?
The recent news of steel centers and marketing offices being opened by Essar in Europe for distribution is a culminations of many small and some big steps taken by the Indian Steel Industry. If one was Rip Van Winkle and had just woken up after a 20 years of snoozing, it would have been extremely hard to digest. Gone are the days of British Steel, Hoogovens, Sollac, Cockerill and so many other steel mills in the developed world. For Indian Mills it has been a journey of audacity.
The fire was lit by Lakshmi Mittal and it has spread like wild fire with Tata`s takeover of Corus and the global growth of Jindal and Essar. Of course one can never discount the Chinese but the growth of Indian Steel Mills has been more entrepreneurial and it seems to be more effective as they seem to blend better in the global landscape.
Needless to say, India will always remain a large market and this is from where the Indian Steel Mills draw their strength and momentum. Globalization of Indian Steel Mills will help Indian consumers as best practises and improvements in steel and steel making are replicated in their operations in India.
We are living in a world where Multinational companies need to Indianize themselves to grow while Indian companies are becoming (and have become) multinational. What an exciting time when graduates prefer Indian companies for careers.
Of course we have to continue being humble and learning. An occasional smile, like this one, is perhaps in order as long as it does not go to our heads. India has the demographics of a large young population. It is the education and skill that they get along with governance from Indian politicians that will either make or break India`s journey and its destiny as a leading global power. India`s entrepreneurs have the gumption and the audacity.
dtd. 21/2/2011