India

• Oriane Blondel • Jannice Pettersson• Kirsten van der Sluijs

Agenda

• General information • Culture and customs• Do´s and dont´s• Travel tips• Doing business in India• Discussion

• 7th largest country in the world

• Capital : New Delhi

• Total landmass of 3,287,590 sq km

• Located in South Asia

• Neighbours: Pakistan, China, Bangladesh, Burma,

Nepal and Bhutan

Geography

Multiplicity of climates and terrains- snow-peaked Himalayas in the north- desert in the west- thick rain forests in the north-east- flat green pastures in the Gangetic planes- plateaus in south and central India

Climate

Population and ethnic composition

• Populationmore than 1 billion

• Religionall major world religions and ethnic strains82% of Indians are Hindu 12% Muslims 3% Christians 2% Sikhs Other big religious groups Buddhists, Jains and Parsis

Institutional system

• Federal system with 28 states based on a linguageselection and 7 territories created for political orhistorical matters

• Its the largest democracy in the world inspired by the British model

Language

• 18 constitutionally recognized majorlanguages

• Around 1,600 other languages and dialects

• English is the co-official language

Economic situation

• Indian growth rate is about 5,7% for the past ten years and between 2003-2004 : 7,8%

• India suffers from infrastructural disabilities

• A rate of 9% of growth is necessary in order to reduce poverty

• India is the 127 place in the 175 country of IDH

Indian culture and customs

• Indian treat guests as they were gods, or from there own family

• Elders and the respect for elders is a major component in Indian culture. An individual takes blessings from his elders by touching their feet

• Helpful nature

Indian culture and customs (2)

• How to great each other in India

To greet a friend or another Indian, you join your hands (palms together), bow down in front of the other person, and say:

Namaste (feminin:Namaskar) or Pranam

Eating and hospitality

• When refreshments are offered, it is customary to refuse the first offer, but to accept the second or third

• Under no circumstances should you eat with your left

hand in India, the left hand is considred unclean

• Never offer any other person food from your plate in India, this is unacceptable

• Never thank your host after a meal

• Although Indians are vegetarians, most people eat lamb, chicken, and fish

The Cast system

• Definition

The hereditary, endogamous social classes or subclasses of traditional Hindu society, stratified according to Hindu ritual purity.

The Cast system (2)

• Four generic casts ( the Varna’s)

- Brahmanes (priests)

- Kshatriya (warrios)

- Vaishya (salesmen)

- Shudra (servants)

• Besides the Hindous who belong to a cast, there are people who are the ´untouchables´ or being ´off casts´

Do´s and dont´s

• Wear your clothes properly and respect local tradition

• Never enter a religious place with your shoes on

•Make sure you have all the permissions needed for taking photo’s

Do’s and dont’s (2)

• Never make eyecontact with a professional begger, or you will have a hard case to be left alone

• Try do bargain as much as possible, you will get ripped or any way

• Whistling in public is unacceptable

• Never point your feet at another person as feet are considered unclean

Transportation

• Transportation in India is a big hustle. Don’t ever expect the train being on time

• It is very busy during department time and many reports of

robbery during this hour

Travel tips in India

Travel tips in India (2)

• You are not allowed to bring local currency in or out of the country

• Change your money in large amounts and prepare your patience for a challenge

• Tipping is not a common habit execpt in really fancy places

• Baksheesh You pay to get things done

Doing business

• Deal-focused vs. relationship focused• Informal vs. formal cultures

• Rigid time vs. fluid time cultures• Expressive vs. reserved cultures

Relationship Focused

• Indirect approach of via a third party

• Relationship focused

• No contract but trust

• Indirect use of language, avoid saying no

Formal culture

• Status

• Boss vs. employee

• Using titles

Fluid time culture

• Punctuality

• Scheduling of an appointment

• Polychronic culture

Reserved Culture

• Distance

• Gestures

• Eye contact

• Attitude

Discussion