India:
• Population - 1,203,710,000
• 17% of worlds population
• EIC
- 1765 - controlled Bengal Region
- 1820s - controlled most of India
- 1848 - modern India started - introduced new technology
- Rebellions - 1857 - harsh land taxes - led to dissolution of EIC - British Parliamentary Rule
- started commercialising agriculture in 19th century - set back by small farmers - little industrial employment
- not all bad - railways were built
- After WWI - pressure for self governments - Ghandi
- After WWII - independence in 1947
What started economic growth?
• Rapid economic growth in recent years eg, economy has grown an average of 7% per year since 1997
• 1990s - economic reforms to reduce barriers of trade - encourage Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
• Focused on services rather than manufacturing, reasons for this:
- highly educated and skilled workers - 3 million graduate from indian universities a year
- English is widely spoken and understood
- low labour costs
- extensive communications network
• 2 main ways services have grown:
1. local services eg. IT companies, grew as they supplied TNCs
2. TNCs wanted to relocate to India
• In 2002 estimated 35,000 people worked in call centres
Benefits of economic growth on economy and society:
• Development so far has only affected a minority of the country - therefore widened the gap between north and south
• India government hope north economy will grow as south grows
• call centres - economic growth - perks:
- free private transport to and from work
- air conditioning at work
• Rise in hospitals and health care industries
• Rise in hotels/travel/tourism
• Developed into open market in 1991
• Privatisation
• Reduced controls on foreign trade
• In 2008 tourism was $175 billion and expected to rise to $275 billion in 2008
• Special Economic Zones
- agreement with China helped with additional economic activity
- promoted exportation of goods and services
North/South Divide:
• Increasing divide between North and South
• Southern States have a faster decline in population growth rate
• As a result - lack of unskilled workers in South
• Currently being replaced by migration from other parts of the country
• In urban areas late marriages, more divorces and smaller families have been taken on by western ideas
• Not happening in rural areas in North
• Movement of labour also leads to aging population in North which people move away from and young population in South
Bangalore:
• India's fastest growing city - It has become the call centre capital of the world
• India's 3rd largest city
• Between 1991 and 2001 population increased by over 60%
• Per capita income for Bangalore is around US$1160 - highest in India
• It has over 10,000 millionaires ($)
• Between 2000 and 2003 the number of call centres in India increased from 50 to 800 - many of these were in Bangalore
• In India the customer service jobs are known to be respectable and well-paying, enough to give men the income and the title to become a suitable bachelor
• Typical wage is 5,000 rupees a month ($100), call centre wage Is 15,000 rupees ($300)
• As long as your accent is good, its not that hard to get a job on the floor, because of the high burnout rate and booming industry
• A high UK jobless rate means many companies are moving their call centres back to the UK
