India's Global Powerhouses: How They Are Taking On the World »

Nirmalya Kumar is Professor of Marketing and Co-Director, Aditya Birla India Centre at London Business School. Pradipta. K. Mohapatra is Co-Founder and Chairman of Executive & Business Coaching Foundation India Limited. Suj Chandrasekhar is a principal at Strategic Insights Inc.

When the Indian auto manufacturer Tata Motors bought the iconic Jaguar and Land Rover brands - complementing the Nano, its own innovative $2,500 car - it opened up a new chapter in India's economic story. In the coming years, such Indian multinationals as Bharat Forge, Hindalco, Infosys, Mahindra, and Suzlon will increasingly be making acquisitions and building their brands in Western markets.

Never heard of them? Then read this book. India's Global Powerhouses introduces you to the India's preeminent global companies and explains how they differ from their international rivals. The book profiles India's pioneering multinationals in detail, describing their transformation from leading domestic players to evolving global giants, as well as their unique approaches to globalization.

Every manager should understand the histories and the business trajectories of these prospective competitors, collaborators, and customers - whose names will soon be as familiar to us as Honda, Lenovo, and Samsung.

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review.Marketing professor Kumar (of the London Business School) asserts that India, along with other economic hotspots like China and Dubai, "will be unrecognizable in a decade," having "helped remake the global and political economic landscape." With coauthors Mohapatra (a player in India's private sector) and Chandrasekhar (of D.C. think-tank Strategic Insights), he assembles in-depth case studies of India's multinational operators, covering the country's pre- and post-independence history, and how an overwhelming government bureaucracy became a business-friendly regime. A look at India's Tata Group, founded 1868, reveals its extraordinary evolution into a powerful modern business through select acquisitions in hotels, steel, tea and automobiles (like its 2008 acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover). Another captivating account tracks Essel Propack's small laminated tube company, which found global success as a supplier for Proctor & Gamble (illustrating the Hindu proverb, "Help thy brother's boat across and, Lo! Thine own has reached the shore"). Challenges for Indian multinationals like Infosys and turbine manufacturer Suzlon include skyrocketing executive compensation and rental costs, a lack of globally-minded managers and a cultural difficulty with teamwork. As Kumar and company demonstrate, the future of business in India is worth understanding, and their detailed volume makes an excellent primer.
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