Patanjali Ayurved's rise has prompted most other babas to go back to the drawing board. Most of them are either scripting or re-jigging their business plans, says Arvind Singhal.
As the Indian economy grows on a much larger base (about $1,500 billion in 2011), it is interesting to see the emergence of new, very promising "micro segments" of different industries and services.
India first needs to innovate the solution itself, and then focus on the product.
Why strategic initiatives should be taken based more on a vision and entrepreneurial "gut-based" decision process in India, writes Arvind Singhal
It will be a sad day when most of India will shop only inside enclosed, characterless shopping malls.
There are no easy solutions except that MBA colleges have to reinvent themselves and their programmes immediately before they add more capacity, and all new aspirants for an MBA programme should keep in mind that an MBA degree from even a high-ranking institute may not translate into a dream job in the near future!
Good command of written and spoken English will become one of the most sought after qualities in the Indian manager of the future.
At the end of 2019, the winners of that decade will be largely those who chose to see the coming decade as a fundamentally different one from any of the previous that India has seen.
As new, modern shopping centres come up in more than 100 cities across the country, shoppers of all strata will happily desert the congested, filthy and shopper-convenience-unfriendly traditional markets in those cities.
One of the most important implications will be on account of a rapid increase of women in the workforce in the coming years, leading to an unprecedented economic and social empowerment for them and thereby a dramatic redefinition of their roles and influence.
India has just about 5,500 ITIs and 1,745 polytechnics, compared to 500,000 similar institutes in China.
There is a rapidly advancing 'middle class' of entrepreneurs in India today.
There is a pressing need for developing high-calibre talent focused on 'Food & Agriculture' technology and management.
Consumer spending patterns are witnessing mega-shifts with implications for all involved parties, says Arvind Singhal.
However, there is one sector that has the potential to become one of the biggest economic growth drivers for the country, provided the government, industry and entrepreneurs take cognisance of the same. That sector is 'healthcare'. In addition to textiles and IT, this is one sector that has an incredible opportunity to grow exponentially, riding both on the domestic 'demand' as well as the international market opportunity.
The continued weak financial health of this sector remains one of the big enigmas of the post-liberalisation India.
This deferred or reduced spending is now extending across most major consumption sectors such as discretionary food and groceries, clothing and home textiles, consumer durables and home appliances, jewellery, furniture and furnishings, leisure travel, and entertainment. Oddly, the response of many manufacturers, marketers and retailers has been counter-intuitive.
If India's business leaders believe in India's future, then the task of building (or rebuilding) a business for that future should be an encouraging and exciting one.
How many of these so-named stimuli packages are indirectly or directly aimed at stimulating the poll prospects of the ruling United Progressiva Alliance can be a subject of many conjectures.
The word 'recession' is being frequently used in India in recent months despite the fact that the economy continues to grow