Living in a world where our social structure and life are dictated by privilege and abundant availability of goods shows a country, such as India’s purchasing power and the influence it has on the general market. The market evaluated by the number of population and import/export information of goods, and looking up this information, it is estimated that India’s “population is expected to overtake China in 2028″(BBC, 2019). This growth is seen in India’s two major cities, Mumbai and New Delhi(NASA, 2018). Mumbai is known to be India’s most populous city with an estimated population of 20,411,274 people, mainly between the ages of 20-45, male and female included. Mumbai is the largest city in the aspect of business and trade activity as people relocate from other cities seeking employment and business opportunities, while New Delhi is considered one of the fastest urban expansion.
Economic Stability
As the capital of India, New Delhi, is the main focus for the group, understanding the imports and exports of India as a whole is significant. India’s relationship with the United States, China among other countries is essential to their well being (Exim, 2019). The products that India receives from their trading partners, provide them with goods that may be scarce or needed in India. Their exports allow their relationships to their trading partners to be seen as beneficial, offering financial stability to stay afloat and needed. Analyzing specific goods that are being imported and exported, to and from India, will allow a picture of why this country is valuable to be painted. However, due to recent events, India’s imports and exports are drastically being affected by Covid-19.
Imports to India serve a vital purpose to allow this country to survive and prosper. India’s leading imported product is oil, good that this country depends on just like many others. Just like oil, India relies on heavy and industrial machines that are used to build and grow cities, rapidly (Desk, 2016). Another good that India spends billions on to receive is gold, which can be for their cultural appreciation and use of precious and fine jewelry. In terms of exports, some examples of products that are seen as valuable to other countries are spices, technological products such as computers, medicine, and more (India: U.S.-India Bilateral Trade and Investment,2019). To showcase the trading relationship between India and the United States when it comes to rare jewelry, gold is imported to India whereas diamonds are exported to the United States. As billions of dollars are being spent and received by imports and exports, the current pandemic has disrupted India’s trading.
Political Stability
Politics in India at the current moment is under stressed. The lack of trust from the citizens of the country towards their government is causing political instability and tensions within the major cities like New Delhi and Mumbai. The distrust roots from previous political leaders and movements that have led to protests across India. In order for India to grow and thrive economically, there is a need for political stability far more than any tax break or investment subsidy that the budget. Indian businesses and the general public would like to hear and see from the government is a declaration of commitment to restore the normalcy of political stability (Arun, 2020) before any economic structural updates. The political turmoil in India concerns business investors, however, the current global crisis known as COVID-19 could help change the current political situation.
The way India’s government chooses to cope with COVID-19 could potentially fortify the power of the Indian State. Citizens of India typically elect government officials based on religious preference and parochial loyalties. This style of electing has been detrimental to the Indian state because these officials have not helped stabilize the government or deliver any positivity for Indian citizens. The crisis may force both the political system and citizens to recognize that issues such as health cannot be marginal, but are central (Chanakya, 2020). The reform of the Indian government post-COVID-19 could attract business investors and improve Indian politics and the economy.
How Covid-19 Has Affected India’s Imports and Exports
Business, lives, countries, and more have been negatively affected by Covid-19 and new policies, such as lockdown and limiting the amount of trade happening. The percentage of imports and exports has been at its lowest for India, resulting in billions being lost and goods being needed the most. Goods being imported to India and exports being shipped to trading partners since lockdown took effect, has dropped close to sixty percent (Pti, 2020). With orders being canceled and trading temporarily slowed down due to this pandemic, India faces many challenges just as other countries, eager to fully reopen trading.
Why New Delhi, India Was Chosen
The purpose of choosing the Indian state of New Delhi for an international retailing project is to showcase how a state within a large country is able to grow and prosper with the right amount of focus and resources being invested in it. Additionally, recently United States President, Donald Trump announced to the confronting the members of the “Group of 7,” stating that the current G7 is “outdated” (India news. 2020). On June 3rd, President Trump had a phone call with Narendra Modi to invite India to the G7 summit. Due to the India-China standoff and tensions between the United States and China, President Trump wants to assemble allies to deal with China in the future (India news. 2020). The invitation of India to be part of the G7 summit would improve New Delhi as India’s capital city’s economic growth in the future. Moreover, with the focused investment, self-sustaining India is not only able to focus on import to catering to its 1.3 Billion people, but also to export its goods globally. In the case, products are left unused or unsold, it has a huge national market to offload a minimal loss.
References
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Balakrishnan, P. (2020, January 08). Is India a stable place to do business in? Retrieved June 05, 2020, from https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/columns/is-india-a-stable-place-to-do-business/article30505131.ece
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