12 Tips to do Business in India

Don’t be Self Obsessed, even if you're the CEO of a Fortune 10 company

The next thing is your perception of your self-importance. If you’re some CEO of a big company, your assumption would be you’ll be taken care of in a certain manner, because you’re used to being treated in that way in your home country. That is not a good assumption. For instance, the CEO of a major U.S. company took his private plane to India with his team assuming that he didn’t need a visa. But in India a visa is mandatory. Within 24 hours the authorities fetched him and deported him. This is how the system works. You can’t assume you’ll be treated with an amount of respect and esteem.

If you're like most American corporations, you'll choose Delhi for your Indian headquarters

To some Mumbai is like New York and Delhi is like Washington, D.C. A lot more business is done in Delhi. It's also the most inhabitable city. The government is hiring there. There's better infrastructure; more cleanliness. Lots of corporations are footed there. If you have to travel two times a week to talk to the government, you might as well be here.