With the rupee declining fast this year, the clamor to fix India's economic policies now came with a threat. In a report by Reuters, India's corporate titans were said to be pushing the national government to make policy changes or face abandonment.
Entrepreneur Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw did not wait for the Indian government to respond. Mazumdar-Shaw, who is among the most powerful women ranked by Forbes news magazine, would be placing a USD200 million investment in a Malaysian manufacturing plant for her firm, Biocon Ltd. In an interview with Reuters, Mazumdar-Shaw said, "We don't have enough power, we don't have enough water. So some of these projects where we need water and power, I will do it in Malaysia because that's where it is abundant." Mazumdar-Shaw was among the many of India's top entrepreneurs who had been frustrated with policymakers who failed to work on economic reforms in the past 10 years.
The descent of the rupee was supposedly caused by events stemming from investments that had left India. In late August, the rupee recorded to a low 68.85 per dollar, a 20% dive from the end of last year. The country has since pledged its gold reserves for international loans. Moreover, economic growth decreased to less than 5% in six years.
In efforts to curb the rupee dive, India's central bank reduced offshore investment limit of companies from 400% to 100%. However, leading Indian scientist and chairman of Cipla Yusuf Hamied said, "The government has to give us infrastructure - not for a day, not for six months - there has to be long-term infrastructure, policies that are sustainable so that we can then also plan accordingly." Hamied's company had since expanded his company to North Africa.
Join the Conversation