cosmik-debris.net

Business Wire, Nov 20, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO — A new report by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, Global Reach,
documents the deep connections between the economy of the San Francisco
Bay Area with India. More than two years in the making, and based on
nearly 200 interviews with business and community leaders, the study
assesses the unique ties linking the worlds innovation capital with its
fastest growing major economy after China.

Within the Bay Area, the report assesses the contributions of Indian
immigrants in building the regions economy, from the founding of many
of Silicon Valleys leading technology companies such as Sun, Brocade,
Cerent and Hotmail to the creation of venture capital firms that
continue to support entrepreneurs and technology start-ups. As a measure
of its success, the median income in the Bay Areas Indian community is
more than $107,000, 75% of adults have at least a bachelors degree, 70%
are in management or professional positions, and roughly half are
homeowners.

The report finds that the Bay Areas impact in India is also deep. Most
of the regions leading technology firms have R&D; centers or other
partnerships in India, and Bay Area venture capital firms have led the
investment charge into India. For example:

• Visa has issued more than 30 million debit cards and 32 million credit
  cards to Indian consumers;
• India is Oracles fourth largest global market;
• India hosts Symantecs largest engineering site outside the US, and
  works on more than 80% of its products;
• India accounts for one third of Adobes global engineering workforce;
• More than half of Indias developer community works on Sun platforms;
• Hewlett Packard is the largest player in Indias IT market;
• Levi Strauss has 450 exclusive outlets in 80 Indian cities
• Cisco’s second global headquarters is in Bangalore;
• eBay counts 2 million regular users in 670 cities and 10,000 dealers
  across the country, and an item is sold every minute in the companys
  India website;
• San Francisco-based Draper International launched the first
  India-dedicated venture fund;
• Silicon Valley-based Evolvence India Life Science Fund is the first
  India-dedicated fund focused on biotechnology;
• More than 40 Bay Area venture firms have Indian leadership and/or
  activity in India.

Underlying this two-way activity, the Institute finds several major
trends that are transforming the global economy and Indias role in it.
In recent years Indias technology economy has progressed from activity
based primarily on the offshoring of back-office jobs and writing
software code, to a more sophisticated role where Indian IT companies
are taking on more complicated tasks such as systems integration and
end-to-end product development. Wage arbitrage (trading on high-volume
work and lower wage scales) is becoming less important, while more
complex, specialized work is increasing. According to Bay Area Council
Economic Institute President & CEO Sean Randolph, Many people still
think India is all about offshoring and low wages, but the reality has
changed dramatically. Indias growing capacity for high-end services,
research and product development is transforming it into a global
technology hub, and deepening the quality of its global partnerships. In
the process, India and its companies are becoming more deeply embedded
in Bay Area companies global strategies.

Another trend the report identifies is the emergence of a middle class
of 200-300 million consumers. Reflecting this, Bay Area companies are
increasingly using India not only as a base for global markets, but also
to meet Indias growing demand for everything from designer clothing to
computers, urban planning and architectural design services, financial
services, infrastructure development, education, tourism, software and
cleantech. Investment by Bay Area VCs is flowing into everything from
on-line gaming to fast food franchises.

By identifying which Bay Area companies and organizations are active in
India and their views of Indias economic future, the report finds both
opportunities and issues for companies looking to tap in to Indias
economic growth. The combination of Bay Area innovation and capital with
Indias engineering talent, it finds, can be a formidable one in global
markets.

To realize that vision, however, two domestic issues must be addressed.
One is immigration reform: many educated Indians who once planned to
stay in the US and contribute to its economy are returning home, as
entrepreneurial opportunities grow and the immigration climate in the US
becomes more difficult
immigration in tulsa