NEW DELHI: The first permanent office of the United States-India Business Council (USIBC) was inaugurated here yesterday by Indra Krishnamurthty Nooyi, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of PepsiCo. Nooyi, who was listed as the fourth most powerful woman in the world in Forbes magazine’s 2006-poll, said in a statement: “Returning home to institutionalize USIBC’s commitment to a strengthened partnership with India represents a proud moment for me as the CEO of a global company committed to India, as the chairman of USIBC, and as a native Indian.”
USIBC president Ron Somers termed the timing of opening of the office as “auspicious,” as it coincides with Prime Minister Manmohan’s US visit. “It is auspicious that as USIBC establishes permanent presence in India’s capital, India’s Prime Minister is arriving in Washington to end the technology denial regime imposed against India as embodied in the US-India civil nuclear cooperation initiative. The spirit of cooperation that will ensue will positively affect relations between the peoples of our countries for generations to come and will help shape the economic destiny of the 21st century,” Somers said.
The US-India Educational Foundation, formed in 1950, known for its Fulbright and Humphrey scholarships will lease space to USIBC in India. Formed in 1975, under the aegis of US Chamber of Commerce, the USIBC is a premier business advocacy organization representing 300 of the largest US companies in India and 24 global Indian companies, whose aim is to deepen trade and strengthen US-India commercial ties.
Accompanied by a USIBC executive mission, Nooyi is currently visiting India to explore opportunities of investing in the agricultural sector. They are considering opportunities to spur productivity in India’s agricultural sector and “farm-to-market” supply chain.
A few recent developments have, however, cast a shadow on foreign investors being discouraged from moving into India. These include attacks on churches and Christian establishments, lynching of L.K. Chaudhury - CEO of Italy-based auto-component manufacturer Cerlikon-Graziano - by a mob of sacked workers in Greater Noida this Monday along with Tata-group being forced to move out of Singur, West Bengal.
The incident in Greater Noida, attacks on churches and the Singur-episode would affect foreign investment, Somers said. Elaborating on the negative impact of the Singur-episode, Somers said: “If Ratan Tata cannot succeed in Bengal, then how can an American investor hope to succeed there? Suspension of work in Singur is a tragic setback - for the Tata Group, for West Bengal and for the thousands of lost downstream jobs such an industry will create.”
Nooyi, however, has no intentions to backtrack from her plans of enhancing investment in India, whether because of her Indian roots and/or commercial interests. Before moving to US, Nooyi got her bachelor’s degree from Madras Christian College (1974) and joined a business diploma program in Kolkata.
Pepsi plans to invest $500-million in the coming three years, Nooyi disclosed. This “commercial” move has the tag of social responsibility attached, as the investment would generate 50,000 direct and indirect jobs in India. The company would also launch a number of new health-oriented products. The company’s pilot plan, Nooyi said, is to eradicate poverty in India by 2015.
