Globalization and Public Relations in Postcolonial Nations: Chal ...

nations. It is credited with lifting many in India into the middle class, which currently numbers 50 million people and is predicted to number 583 million by 2025. With the rise in income has come a rise in consumption; a larger percentage of income is spent on discretionary goods than on basic necessities, increasing the demand for imported goods (Ablett et al., 2007).

In turn, India’s share of world trade has grown, particularly in industries such as pharmaceuticals. India is the world’s second-largest producer of pharmaceuticals by volume and supplies about 20% of the world’s generic drugs to major buyers such as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO; Velete, 2010). As India’s economy grows, foreign manufacturing companies, which to date have favored China because of its cheap labor pool and better developed infrastructure, are establishing themselves in India. As of 2007 Fortune 500 companies had 98 research and development facilities in China and 63 in India, and the gap was closing (Meredith, 2008).

As the economy has soared, more India-based multinational corporations (MNCs) are expanding into other countries. About 21,500 MNCs are based in the developing world; the number of Financial Times 500 companies headquartered in BRIC nations increased from 15 in 2006 to 62 in 2008. One example is India’s Tata Group, founded by Jamsetiji Tata in 1868 because he wanted India to be economically independent. Throughout its history, the company has espoused philanthropy, supported higher education and affirmative action, and worked to better living and employment conditions (Singh, 2001). Since 2000 the company has expanded globally, beginning with the acquisition of Tetley Tea. The company has also acquired a heavy vehicles unit in Korea, Singaporean and Anglo-Dutch steel companies, a controlling stake in a British chemicals firm, and most recently the Jaguar and Land Rover car brands.