The key factors that have helped family-run businesses in India flourish are entrepreneurship and strong intellectual capability. They have developed an optimal combination of managing risk and ensuring stability, thus driving their growth. They have also been able to leverage the wisdom and intellect of multiple generations. Furthermore, they have been able to adapt to changing circumstances, and have been quick to spot opportunities and take advantage of them, as and when the environment has changed. They have also ensured that they absorb the latest trends in management thinking and technology to make their businesses vibrant and relevant. Brand India stands for rapid inclusive growth, business innovations for the bottom of the pyramid, and intellectual capital. While our economic reforms have delivered rapid growth, we are now more focussed on inclusive growth to ensure equality of opportunity for all.

We have also demonstrated to the world that there are profits to be made from developing products and services for the bottom of the pyramid. Indigenous innovations in products or packaging, such as shampoos in sachets are a case in point. Finally, our intellectual capital has been instrumental in helping place India’s unique perspectives and age-old civilisational wisdom and values for rest of the world to take note off.

The important drivers for Brand India will be ensuring a high growth rate of 10 per cent and more for the economy over the next 10 years, and the dynamism of Indian entrepreneurs. To ensure rapid, sustainable growth, we need to persist with more economic reforms, develop our infrastructure across roads, railways, airports and ports, establish an educational system that trains our youth for the jobs of tomorrow and promote clean technologies that protect our environment and act as incentives to develop new innovations.

Our recent economic success has also been built upon the ideas, hard work and determination of a new generation of entrepreneurs. Sectors such as Information Technology have flourished because of enhanced entrepreneurship. This has encouraged the youth in India to set up businesses of their own. I believe this drive for entrepreneurship will assume greater proportions in the future, helping develop a stronger India.

- Adi Godrej