The Poly-India 2007 Mission

Why India?

India is the world largest democratic country with more than a billion inhabitants. Viewed as “a budding giant”, in the past five years it went through a strong rising at an international level. India, just like its neighbour China, has taken advantage of the delocalization of large multinational firms and has drawn a large flow of foreign direct investments in research and development, phone call centers, development centers and sometimes administrative centers. Even though the country still hasn't achieved its full potential, it holds many competitive advantages, such as an educated and well trained population and a good government support for foreign investors. Moreover, it has established solid partnership with countries like the United States and Germany.

It appears that India has arrived at a turning point at a world-wide level. Moreover it is now part of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China); that is the four emerging countries which will surpass the actual economic powers by 2050.

The 2007 Poly-India Mission, throughout industrial visits, will allow a better understanding of this great economic dynamism which doesn't prevent India from having over 250,000,000 inhabitants who live with less than a dollar per day.

An overview of Poly-World

We live in a world that is strongly influenced by the emergence of new markets, driven more and more by international cooperation and the globalization of technologies. Today’s engineers therefore need to be aware of the industrial sectors developing internationally. Likewise, an enterprise wishing to expand its operations requires a detailed knowledge of the latest developments in the international markets.

Sharing this view, a group of students from École Polytechnique de Montréal decided to create a mission allowing them to participate in industrial tours in Quebec and beyond. Thus Poly-Monde was born. Now in its 18th year, this project unites scores of students wishing to enrich their knowledge about international technology and industry. So far, Poly-Monde has visited Japan, Germany, Scandinavia, Italy, United-Kingdom, France, the American West Coast, Benelux, South Korea, Spain, Brazil, Switzerland, China, Poland and the Czech Republic. Participation in one of these missions means discovering the main sectors of activity in the chosen region and gaining experience in the dynamics of a global market. This year, Poly-World has elected India as its studied country.

To be fully prepared for their mission, the Poly-World members follow two courses: «Technology and international competition I and II». The course outlines include theme studies and discussions on the selected country and its important sectors of activity. Mission members also learn how to analyze the major commercial agreements impacting the industries concerned.

The Poly-World members accept total responsibility for their mission. They must find the required funding, organize the industrial tours in Quebec and abroad, and plan all other logistics for the trip.

Once they are back in Canada, mission members will prepare a comprehensive report detailing the specific characteristics of each studied sector. A copy of the report will be given to each partner of the mission.

This report is a precious tool for enterprises doing business in a specific market or wishing to enter that market.

Our itinerary

New Delhi et Delhi (11 M (Delhi) 0.3 M (New Delhi) of inhabitants) : Delhi is the economic capital of the North part of India. Its economic growth is exponential due to the presence of a well-educated English-speaking population which has lower salaries than their occidental counterparts. The service sectors and the information technology (IT) and communication sectors are the most present in Delhi. Delhi is one of the most important urban centers of India with very developed social structures and transportation systems.
Agra (1.4 M inhabitants): Agra is an important cultural center and the city where stand the Taj-Mahal and Agra’s castle.
Gurgaon (1.0 M inhabitants): Gurgaon is a major industrial zone in India located at 30 km of New Delhi. Since the eighties, a lot of multinational firms left New Delhi (too crowded) for this region.
Mumbai (13 M inhabitants): Mumbai is the 4th most populous city in the world. In addition of being the main financial center of the country, Mumbai is the true heart of the traditional Indian economy. It contributes to 10% of employment, 40% of firm income taxes, 60 % of the customs duties and 40% of the foreign exchange market.
Bangalore (5.1 M inhabitants): Third most populated city of India, it is known as the Indian Silicon Valley and is held responsible for 35% of the software exports. The establishment and the success of high-technology firms and the liberalization of the Indian economy have led to the budding of a large technological pole of information technologies.
Pondichéry (0.9 M inhabitants): Pole of services of the Indian economy, Pondichéry is an ancient French colony. It was transferred to India four years after its independence in 1952.
Chennai (4.4 M inhabitants): With an economy based on software, hardware, car industry and financial services, Chennai is an important economic pole of South India. Chennai, is the host of several major universities and holds the largest media concentration.