India’s economy will peak in 50 years

India’s economy will peak in 50 years, says Blackwill - Deccan Herald - Internet Edition

In advice to future investors, [Blackwill] added, “There is this subtle temptation that you must avoid, which is to think Indians are like us, the Westerners. Indians speak English beautifully and, arguably, today are writing the best novels in the English language. They are enormously cosmopolitan but they are not like us; they are the beneficiaries of a 5,000-year-old civilisation and culture.

“And that means when you want to do business in India, you miss most of the non-verbal signals in that society. Second, the imperial experience has an effect on India and once some one told me, ‘Bob when you talk about foreign investment, you think of General Electric, we hear that it is East India company.

“So this is something that produces fierce independence on the part of Indians and a sense of being treated with dignity and respect. You need cultural translators if you really do not know the country or are familiar with it.”