Indian Culture

Population
 Ethnic Groups:
 Dravidian 25%
 Indo-Aryan 72%
 Mongoloid and other 3% (2000)
 Religions:
 Hindu 81.3%
 Muslim 12%
 Christian 2.3%
 Sikh 1.9%
 Buddhist, Jain, Parsi 2.5% (2000)
 Languages:
 English
 Hindi (the national language )
 14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam,
Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi and Sanskrit
 Hindustani

History
Indus Valley Civilization- one of the world’s
first great urban civilizations.
Aryans descended from the north and integrated
with the native Dravidians to form the basis of
classical Indian society

History
 Hinduism, the major religion of India, was a mixture of Aryan and
Indus Valley beliefs.
 Hinduism differs from other religions like Christianity, Judaism and
Islam in that there is no one single founder or one set of beliefs that
must be followed. There are thousands of Hindu gods and
goddesses in Hinduism. Most of the beliefs of Hinduism came from
the oral traditions of the Aryans which became the Vedas—or holy
writings—of the Hindus
Hinduism

History
• One social custom brought to
India by the Aryans was the caste
system. This system put every person
in society into a certain class from which
they could never advance. The caste
system was very effective in keeping
social order but it was rigid and strict.
Those in the lowest caste were looked
down on by upper caste members
and could never change castes.
Caste System

The British influence
The British influence inspired western education and thoughts:
 Created a new educated class.
 Created a common language – English
 Inspired freedom and exchange of ideas
History

People
 Respect elderly and touch their feet for blessing
 Woman Status
 Indians among themselves use Namaste – the palms are brought together
ant chest level with slight bow of the head
 Right Hand
 Eat with fingers and always use right hand to eat
 Wash their hands immediately after and before eating a meal
 Believed that food tastes better when eating with one’s hands
 Can't Say No
 Take your footwear off when you enter a private house or temple
 Indian names vary based upon religion, social class, and region of the
country
 Frangipani and white flowers cannot be the gifts
 Yellow, green and red are lucky colors
 Strong bonds with family members as well as relatives (Respect the elders)
 Sons are always more preferred than daughters
 Most marriages are still arranged by parents
 Extremely low divorce - rate with only 1.1%
Culture

India : Economy
 In the early part of 19th century India was the major producer of cotton for
the globe
 In the most recent times, India has emerged as a popular destination for
knowledge intensive work
 Indian Economy (2005)
Population 1.08 billion (Growth- 1.5%)
GDP: $797.5 billion ($738 per capita)
GDP (PPP): $3.79 trillion ($3508 per capita)
Inflation: 5% (approx)
Foreign Direct Investment: 0.9% of GDP

India : Economy
One of the fastest growing economies in the world (average
growth rate of over(7%)

India : Economy
Indian Manufacturing Sector
 In the recent years, manufacturing sector is
picking steam
 5 Deming quality prizes for Indian firms (largest
outside of Japan)
 Major investments by US, European and Asian
firms - POSCO, Dell, Motorola, Flextronics,
BMW, Ford, Intimate Apparels

India : Economy
 Indian BPO Sector
 The domestic BPO sector is projected to increase to $4
billion in 2004 and reach $65 billion by 2010 (McKinsey)
 There are over 200 call centres in India with revenues over $2
billion and a workforce of over 150,000
 Offshoring activities are moving towards higher value added
activities such as legal, consulting, healthcare processing
and insurance from technical support and airline
reservations

Hofstede’s Dimensions
Individualism / Collectivism Index
- India – 48
- World Average – 43
- India is collectivist culture and working in groups is valued
- Collective interest is more important than individual interest
- Family value & life is foremost important

Power Distance Index
- India – 77
- India’s score is very high on this index which shows that
power is distributed more unequally in India
- High level of inequality of power and wealth within the society
- Harmony of society is based on given value to order of social
status

Masculinity / Femininity Index
- India – 56
- World average – 50
- Gender inequality is more profound in India
- Wide gap between positions of men and women
- Male tend to dominate society and power structure

Uncertainty Avoidance Index
- India – 40
- Due to fatalist orientation Indians are able to bear uncertainty
- More open to unstructured ideas and situations

Long Term Orientation
- India – 61
- Higher score refers to more persistent culture and thrifty
- More future planning is involved

Business Culture
Business Dress Code
 Normal Business Dress Code for Man – Suit and Tie
 Due to a warm climate, often full-sleeved shirt and tie are
also acceptable
 Business Dress Code for Woman – Pantsuits and skirts which
cover the knees; neckline of the blouse and top should be
high and sleeves should cover the shoulders
 Select neutral colors that are subdued and not very bright

Business Culture
 Greeting
 When doing business in India, business etiquette requires a
handshake
 Indians among themselves use Namaste – the palms are
brought together ant chest level with slight bow of the head
 Using Namaste is a sign of Indian Etiquette understanding
 Business Cards
 Business cards should be exchanged at the first meeting
 Be sure to receive and give with the right hand
 Make sure the card is put away respectfully and not simply
pushed into your shirt/trousers pocket

Business Culture
Meetings
 Meetings should be arranged well in advance in writing and confirmed
later on by phone
 Avoid meetings near national holidays – Independence Day, Diwali, etc.
 Punctuality is expected however being late usually will not have
disastrous consequences
 Flexibility is paramount
 Last minute cancellations are possible and not a sign for anything
 Avoid talking about:
 Personal matters
 Poverty/beggars
 Politics, caste system & religion issues
 Woman rights

Business Culture
 Business Hierarchy
 One of the most significant influences on Indian Business
Culture
 Mostly – One decision maker in the company
 Managers and executives – still will wait for approval by
CEO/owner
 Sometimes decisions are maid by people who are not
present during negotiations

In India,
Relationship Comes Before
Business
Business Culture

Business Culture
 Top Business Principals
 Time is measured by years, not weeks
o Long term approach will create significant impact
 Partnering and win-win is were it all starts
 India and its people are very diverse
o Need to adjust to the right people/team
 Listening is much more appreciated than talking
 “No” is never said
 Government/official relations are important
 Business India is corruption free
o If you are asked, you are in the wrong place
 Regulations are simple, but very strictly enforced

Business Culture
 Don’t
 Don’t push…
 Don’t insist on any commitment at the first meetings
 Express disagreement openly considered rude
 Do not use strict expressions
• “No” is not being said, “Yes” is hardly used

Indian Culture

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