‘Reforms in India have been disappointingly slow’
January 29, 2012
By P.T. Thufail
Lord Karan Bilimoria, the founder of the famous brand Cobra beer in the UK, is a prominent British personality. He has maintained close links with India. In this interview with P.T. Thufail, he speaks of investment prospects for overseas Indians and their strong interest in charity, education and health in India.
This year the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) — created officially to forge links with overseas Indians — was observed recently in New Delhi. Are there tangible benefits from such events?
I have attended the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas since its inception in 2003. I have found it to be a tremendous government initiative which brings together thousands of non-resident Indians (NRIs) and persons of Indian origin (PIOs). It is wonderful to celebrate the success of the over 25 million members of the Indian diaspora across the world. Wherever you look, Indians are now reaching the very top in every field.
The PBD has led to the formation of the ministry of overseas indian affairs. It is at the PBD that I made the suggestion to the Indian government that there should be a Prime Minister’s Global Advisory Council, which has just had its third meeting.
This council — of which I am a founding member — has been able to process such issues as voting rights for NRIs and the merging of the PIO card and Overseas Indian Citizenship.
People of Indian background abroad are vastly different from one another in their social and economic makeup. Has the Pravasi arrangement helped to bring them together?
The PBD has been wonderful in bringing together the Indian diaspora, like those in South Africa and the Caribbean. Through the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, the global Indian community has been able to come together to celebrate achievements of prominent NRIs from across the globe. I am very proud to have been awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman by the President of India in 2008.
If Indian people abroad choose to seriously invest in India, what sums can we be looking at? What do we need to do here to facilitate that effort?
India has one of the highest levels of foreign remittances, running into tens of billions of dollars a year. Over and above this, the diaspora is increasingly investing in Indian business. The PBD has actively enabled the various states of the country to promote inward investment.
In my case, in June 2011, Cobra entered into a joint venture with Molson Coors — the last of the global brewing giants to enter India — forming Molson Coors Cobra India. We own the only brewery in the state of Bihar, and have almost completed its expansion and upgrade, doubling its capacity from two million cases to four million.
How effectively has the government helped in promoting investments?
The government is actively supporting NRIs in investing in India. The PBD is about bringing together PIOs, inspiring each other. It is also about connecting Indian residents and NRIs in a kind of global exchange of ideas.
The PBD is also about making the diaspora aware of investment opportunities in India. Without fail, the PBD is graced by the President, the Prime Minister, Union Cabinet ministers and chief ministers.
That said, the reforms in India have been disappointingly slow. Most recently, we were faced with the disappointment of FDI in multi-brand retail being announced and then withdrawn almost straightaway. More broadly, there are still a number of roadblocks to foreign investment by NRIs and others.
The Foreign Universities Bill is still pending; Lloyds of London is barred from trading in India (the only large country that does not allow it in); foreign lawyers cannot practise in India. These reforms will help India get the one trillion dollars of FDI in infrastructure it will require over the next decade.
What investment fields appear most attractive to a high-profile businessman like yourself, given the way things are in India?
I have just given the example of my own business. India is the fastest-growing beer market in the world. Yet, at only 1.5 litres per person per year, it is still one of the smallest markets. China, the world’s largest beer market, has a consumption of 30 litres per person per year. Germany consumes 150 litres per person per year. So, there is a great deal of potential in my industry.
There are opportunities in practically every field. The UK-India Business Council, of which I am the president, is promoting a huge range of sector-based investment opportunities in key silos, like advanced engineering, digital innovation, infrastructure, life sciences, healthcare, retail supply chain logistics, skills and education.
Apart from business, in what other ways would overseas Indians like to stay in touch with their mother country? Do they like their children to visit India for short-term study or work?
The PBD has led to several initiatives that have seen young NRIs spending time experiencing India first hand. Personally, I have been very keen that my children, while they live and study in Britain, come to India without fail for at least one month every year. We visit our relatives in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi and Dehradun. Our children have been growing up with close contact to their Indian roots. I’m sure many overseas Indians feel the same way.
Apart from the PBD, which is a government-run affair, have overseas Indians shown an interest in starting social organisations on their own, or with the help of Indians in India, to promote business, religious or cultural ties?
I think this is particularly prevalent in the charity sector. I chair the advisory council of the Loomba Trust, which educates the children of poor widows. The Trust started in India and has members from Indian communities in different countries.
Again, speaking from personal experience, there is Pratham, a wonderful charity which does a lot in the field of education in India; Child in Need India, which is active in the area of public health and raises awareness about malnutrition; and Thare Machi Education, which works to raise awareness on health issues in many developing countries, including India.
From a religious perspective, we can find the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe, of which I am a member. It was the first ever Indian religious organisation in the UK, and is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year.
Overseas Indians have helped enhance India’s soft power. Can they leverage this to bring about durable political links between the countries they live in and India?
This is happening in a very significant way in the UK, where we now have several Indians in Parliament, both in the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Indian issues are playing an ever-larger role in British politics. One of the strongest examples of this was that Prime Minister David Cameron announced at the beginning of his term that he wanted to enhance Britain’s relationship with India. His first overseas visit, in July 2010, was to India and I was honoured to be able to accompany him.
The world has truly woken up to India. As India’s high commissioner to the UK said, “Our growth is your opportunity.”
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