What Does It Take To Survive In India

With the exception of a few, most of the foreign players (both vendors and service providers), are having a tough time in India. While the Chinese vendors see security issues being raked up by the authorities every few months, the service providers are facing issues of their own.

A case in point is Vodafone India, which is in the middle of a tax imbroglio. But they are not the only ones. Indian arms of Telenor ASA and Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd. found their licenses scrapped earlier this year.

At the same time, there are numerous foreign players like Qualcomm Inc. (the BWA spectrum issue was a small bump on a very smooth road, really!), Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson AB, for instance, who are doing extremely well in India. All this brings us to the question of what does it actually take to survive in a country like India?

Based on our regular interactions with the stakeholders of the industry, here is a lighter take on how to survive and thrive in the Indian market:

Don't take the government policies seriously: Yes, you read that right. Do not take the government policies seriously because even they do not take themselves very seriously. That is an obvious conclusion if one goes through the number of backtracks the government has indulged in. For instance, the Indian government's plan to drop a clause from its draft telecom security policy stating that at least half of all core telecom network equipment must be locally developed or manufactured, is a case in point.

This also means that you cannot and should not get too excited if the policy is in your favor. You really don't know when it will be changed or tweaked to your disadvantage.

Follow a "take it easy" policy: When competitors or the government fires a salvo, sit by the Goa beach and relax. Even better, hire a yoga teacher to help you deal with the stress.

A cruel reality in India is that nothing, just nothing, is the end of the road. An issue is never resolved and controversies never really die down. They can come back to haunt you every six months. For instance, just when we thought that foreign vendors would be banned from the Indian soil, we had a reversal of decision about two years back.

Our advice is to just bide your time and the government will definitely change or dilute the policy.

You have to have a sense of humor: It takes loads and loads of humor and an ability to laugh at the system as well as at yourself to survive in India.

At the end, we don't want to deny anyone a share of the Indian opportunity. The going might get tough sometimes in India but just when you are ready to pack your bags and leave us for good, we will find a way (read loophole) to keep you back. Don't look for a logic in this. Just remember that there is plenty of room for everyone in this country's democratic culture!

- Gagandeep Kaur, Editor, Light Reading India