India

Our coverage of India focuses on understanding whether domestic economic drivers, especially consumer growth, and political continuity will help bring about a sustainable recovery in the face of global economic uncertainty. The large fiscal and monetary stimulus injected into the Indian economy following the global financial crisis has sparked stronger than expected growth. It has also created new challenges including strong inflationary pressure, heavy capital inflows and potential bubbles in sectors such as housing. The focus is now on the impact of the government’s withdrawal of its stimulus as well as on the central bank's decision-making regarding when and how to tighten monetary policy.

Domestic Indian consumption has been resilient during the global downturn and we will continue to monitor this key growth driver. We will focus in particular on the increasing importance of rural demand, an expected short-term dip in consumer durables following the withdrawal of the stimulus measures and specific sectors such as retail and real estate.

We will also continue our sectoral approach, concentrating on two areas that we believe reflect the best investment opportunities but have opaque policy environments that we believe we can shed light on:

• Infrastructure: This is a priority given the government's realisation that India cannot sustain high economic growth if its roads, ports and electricity supply do not see rapid improvement. The regulatory environment has improved, drawing in private investment, but much more needs to be done regarding persistent problems such as land acquisition for major projects.
• Agriculture: This has long been a laggard in comparison with the manufacturing and services sectors, but some structural changes are taking place and leading to investment opportunities. For instance, one area of research will be on how modern wholesale markets are contributing to increased agricultural productivity and also providing a direct investment opportunity.
• Our political coverage will be two-pronged. We will closely monitor the prospects for accelerated economic reforms as well as necessary administrative reforms to improve governance and thereby growth potential and returns on investment. Another area of concern will be the ability of a reinvigorated government to deal with serious foreign policy challenges emanating from destabilisation in Pakistan and rising tensions with China.

Our products

• Topical and thematic notes: In-depth analysis of important emerging trends and themes.
• Country briefing: A comprehensive look at political and macroeconomic developments within India.
• Access to our analysts and network of expert sources: Engage in regular conversations with our top analysts – in which you get to ask the questions – or hook up with our expert sources.
• Trusted Sources analysts on-site: Our analysts present to and brainstorm with you and/or your clients.
• Private research: We carry out a range of tailor-made research and advisory projects, to help clients drill down and gain more focused and detailed understanding of topics and themes that fall within our core research agenda. These include country outlooks, industry reports, watching briefs, portfolio investment strategies and policy papers.

Our research themes

• Macro: fiscal consolidation and inflation
• Politics: local governance and regional tensions
• Consumer growth
• Infrastructure development
• Agricultural reform