Reverse flips, brand trips, and a golden ship—India's homecoming is the comeback story of...
Reverse flips, brand trips, and a golden ship—India's homecoming is the comeback story of the century!
Reverse flips, brand trips, and a golden ship—India's homecoming is the comeback story of the century!
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Reverse flips, brand trips, and a golden ship—India's homecoming is the comeback story of the century!
[1] Gold
Remember when India mortgaged gold? Well, now we’re bringing it back with interest—and a lot more flair.
Last week, India brought back 100 tonnes of gold from England. This brings back memories of 1991. India's credit rating was at its lowest, and forex reserves were insufficient to cover even weeks of imports.
Unable to find any other way, the then FM had to sign papers to mortgage gold to UBS to raise $200 million. It was termed a secret sale of gold. It was not a proud moment for the country. But today's shipping back is, welcome back "Gold."
[2] Startups
Flipkart is rumoured to "reverse flip" to India. Not long ago, startups preferred setting up their main entities outside India—in Singapore, the US, etc. In just a few years, the scenario has flipped, leading to the reverse flip and homecoming of startups. VC/PE funds are comfortable with India, the rising middle class with increased discretionary spending, and most importantly, IPOs like Zomato that allow startups to get better valuations.
Welcome home, Startups!
[3] Brand names
Many of you must remember brands like Van Heusen, and Louis Philippe. International brands, right? No. They are owned by Aditya Birla. International names were used earlier to signal quality.
Not anymore. The sight of Indian brands with Indian names like Himalaya and Patanjali is much more common now. A lot needs to improve, but a lot has been done.
[4] Us
We the people. Almost all the non-resident Indians I met last year want to return to India at the earliest. WhatsApp groups and forums are active in every IIT/IIM alumni group. Many of them are trying for civil services and want to serve the country.
Welcome back!
Proud to be a part of India's journey to greatness. As someone rightly said - It's not India's decade, it's India's century!