INDIA – Forget about the war of the onion traders who recently called off a strike after meeting with India’s chief minister; although it’s worth noting that business returned to normal at  Azadpur wholesale market after lifting the strike. The real news today, where India is concerned, is about how quickly the Asian giant is buying into the global economy, with wholesale stores leading the trend.

While the news about India picking up the pace is nothing new to Asia-watchers and speculators in international trade circles, things are heating up with new initiatives that are sparking interest and rousing investment dollars from sources around the world.

All of this comes in spite of news that India’s rupee rose for a third day, based upon speculation that the central bank will raise borrowing costs this month to cool inflation. This move is expected to boost the appeal of local assets.As if by contrast, on January 01 French wholesale giant Carrefour opened its doors to a target group of business license holders in Delhi, positioning itself as the first wholesale retailer in the Capital.

In an attempt to repeat the success of another superstore like Wal-Mart, the goal is apparently aimed squarely at taking the local businesses that would otherwise be pushed aside by the competition, and instead turn them into assets, not to mention customers.Some experts criticize the efforts, claiming that it would be inappropriate to sell bulk to the few, thus turning the same small business owners against each other by driving down costs for products.

India’s economy, on the other hand, is set to perform well if the right mix of growth and state control is applied, other experts agree. “We expect a proactive monetary-policy stance to contain inflation risks and revive investor confidence in Indian markets,” said Priyanka Chakravarty, a Mumbai-based foreign exchange strategist at Standard Chartered. “We maintain our short-term overweight rating on the rupee.”Some proposals have come to the fore, issuing a new set of directives that will likely lead to vast changes in India’s economic landscape in the years to come. Some of these proposed policies can be summarised as the following:
By stressing literacy and education guidelines that help shape India’s future workforce into competitive players on the international scene, much of the country’s economic security is only based upon a matter of time.

Governance with emphasis placed upon delivering focused and expedient attention to health and living standards of India’s population will boost the economy from the inside.

Usage of labor intensive technology of production, rather than capital-intensive production techniques may open new avenues to generate employment. Promotion of SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) sectors would not only contribute a large share to the Indian economy, but build strengths to the level of global standards.

The Information Technology sector has attracted a great deal of attention both at the national and international level, and with a contribution to the world’s GDP of 2.5% it’s certainly a respectable figure. However, the remaining 97.5% of the economic sector which includes areas like: trading, wholesale, and retail offers tremendous employment opportunities.

Following a strategic overhaul of the country’s infrastructure would be a wise step as well.