Playing Catch Up
Why Atlanta and Georgia still have a long way to go when developing ties to India.
Bobby L. Hickman
December 1, 2007
This summer's announcement that Wipro Technologies is locating a new software development center in
Atlanta is the latest indicator of growing economic and cultural ties between India and Georgia.
Trade to India has increased significantly during the past year, and is expected to continue
growing, says Ken Stewart, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development. In 2006,
Georgia exported almost $195 million worth of goods to India, a 21-percent increase from the
previous year. Georgia is the largest U.S. exporter of textile products to India and third in
exports of paper to India. Other major exports to India from Georgia include computers,
electronics, chemicals and non-electric machinery.
Last year, the Savannah Customs District reported imports of goods from India totaling more
than $444 million, also a 21-percent increase over 2005. The top imports from India include woven
apparel; iron and steel products; textiles; machinery; and pharmaceutical products. Indian capital
investment in Georgia totaled $25.8 million as of 2006.
With approximately 80,000 people from India living in Georgia and more than 2,000 students
from India enrolled in state institutions, Stewart says the state has a decent and growing
relationship with India. "As their middle class continues to expand and their prosperity continues,
we'll continue to see this trade relationship grow."
Lagging behind
Dr. L. Narsi Narasimhan, president-elect of the Georgia Indo-American Chamber of Commerce
(GIACC), believes Atlanta and Georgia are strategically positioned to trade with India because of
logistics, transportation and its Sunbelt location.
And while Georgia has all the good ingredients to be a trade leader with India, the state is
lagging behind the rest of the country in terms of reaching its trading potential with India, says
Narasimhan, CEO of software/services firm Palaam. "We believe that situation is changing. Hopefully
Georgia can catch up and do better than the national average in the near future."
Narasimhan says a number of large Indian companies in a variety of industries already have a
presence in Georgia. Aside from Wipro, biotechnology firm Reddy Labs has operations here, and
Mahindra & Mahindra manufactures tractors in Calhoun. "It's a two-way street: Indian companies
are investing in Georgia, and Georgia companies are doing business in India," he says.
Mahindra & Mahindra, the world's fourth-largest tractor manufacturer, is among those
forging closer ties to Georgia. The company also makes automobiles, trucks and SUVs, and Global
Vehicles in Alpharetta recently obtained the North American license to sell all of Mahindra &
Mahindra's vehicles.
Stewart says state officials called on Mahindra & Mahindra officials in Mumbai during
their February 2007 Asian trade mission, adding, "We hope if they do expand into the U.S. at some
point, they may consider Georgia for a manufacturing facility for other vehicles."
Good things are happening
Historically, Indian companies have settled in such areas as New York, New Jersey, Chicago
and San Francisco. Those city names "are well-recognized in India, whereas Atlanta was not as well
known," Narasimhan says. But name recognition began building in the 1990s for Georgia, and the
Atlanta Olympics played a major role.
Georgia and Atlanta also have increased their efforts to build relationships with India.
Georgia universities and colleges have not historically done a good job of establishing links with
India. "Georgia Tech was a late comer to the game, but they are now establishing more programs,"
Narasimhan says. Also, for many years other states' governors have visited India in the past while
Georgia's did not. In February 2007, Gov. Sonny Perdue visited India along with other government
and business leaders.
Narasimhan, who believes the right things are happening now, says opening a Georgia trade
office in India would help. "A one-person office in India may not sound like a big thing, but from
a symbolic standpoint, it sends a strong signal the governor and commissioner are serious about
expanding trade. It would
have a major impact."
State officials still are considering whether to open a permanent trade office in India.
During the February mission, officials went to Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, where they met with
government and corporate leaders.
That trip included an initial exploration of putting an office in India.
India's economy grew at 10 percent last year and is expected to continue growing for the
foreseeable future. "We expect them to continue to make investments offshore; we expect to expand
our university and student relationships with India; and we expect our trade to continue to
increase," Stewart says. "It makes sense for us to look seriously at locating a physical presence
there. We're still studying it; we just haven't decided yet."
The February trip included a "cold-call" meeting with Wipro officials. That visit was one of
several contacts that contributed to Wipro's August announcement that it will open a software
development center in Atlanta. Wipro plans to initially hire a couple hundred people, and then ramp
up to maybe 500 and even 1,000 in fairly short order, Stewart says.
Georgia on their minds
Whenever Georgia lands a large foreign project, state officials often field questions from
the national press asking why companies decide to locate here. "One of the things that particularly
interests foreign companies is talented people," Stewart says. "We've had a larger in-migration of
younger, highly educated people into Atlanta than any other city in the country. That fact is not
unnoticed by people around the world. Atlanta and Georgia have a robust, growing economy; a low
cost of doing business; a talented work force focused on technology and innovation; and good
business policies in place. It's just a good place to do business."
The port of Savannah also is a major factor for luring foreign investment. There are
currently 22 all-water routes to Savannah from Asia (17 via the Panama Canal and five through the
Suez Canal). "Those routes are going to grow substantially," Stewart says. "There are still a lot
of goods that are coming across the country from ports in California. It doesn't make sense to ship
something to California, put it on a truck or train, and then send it cross-country. As we get more
all-water routes, we're going to have less of that [cross-country shipping]. Our port system is
strong and growing more rapidly than any other ports in the country."
Atlanta's airport and Delta Air Lines also are huge assets, as both provide international
connectivity. Delta has added around 180 international destinations in the past 18 months. "The
internationalization and globalization of Georgia has been increasing substantially," Stewart says.
"We have more than 60 consulates and bi-national chambers, including an honorary consulate from
India who's been here since 2000. The Georgia Indo-American Chamber of Commerce also has been very
active."
Says Stewart, "Georgia's very much on the radar screen in India. We expect to see more
projects from India. Wipro is just the beginning."
Global Exchanges
Georgia firms with operations in India:
• Coca-Cola Company
• Delta Air Lines
• Ebix Inc.
• Habasit Belting
• Internet Security Systems
• JBoss Inc.
• Kurt Salmon Associates
• Manhattan Associates
• Recall Corporation
• S1 Corporation
Indian firms with operations in Georgia:
• Allsec Technologies Ltd.
• Hexaware Technologies Inc.
• Infosys Technologies Ltd.
• Larsen & Toubro Infotech Limited
• Mahindra USA
• NIIT (USA)
• Patni Computer Systems Ltd.
• Prabhat Industries
• Reddy US Theraputics
• Satyam Computer Services
• Sonata
• Tata Consultancy Services