Growing Interest: Why Banks Are Reaching Out to Rural India
Indian banks, especially those in the public sector, have made substantial efforts to tap the country's rural population. But expanding through branches has been a costly -- and largely unsuccessful -- endeavor. Instead, banks are depending on informal channels, such as local business facilitators who promote savings and other products, identify potential borrowers, collect and verify loan applications, and monitor borrowers' repayments. The real challenge, bankers and other experts point out, lies in financial education: helping the masses to understand these products, and the benefits of saving and investing.

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Diversification Dreams: Will Bharat Forge Become India's Newest Conglomerate?
If Baba Kalyani, chairman and managing director of Bharat Forge, has his way, the Pune-based auto parts manufacturer will soon be known for much more than the crankshafts and axles it has been churning out for nearly 50 years. His plan is to move into energy and other high-growth sectors in order to break the company's long dependence on the auto sector, which he says has "restricted creativity" and shackled its growth prospects. But such diversification "is a difficult game to pull off," as one expert notes. So is Bharat Forge jeopardizing its global lead in auto parts manufacturing as it sets out to conquer other sectors?

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The Indian Economy in the Next Decade: Déjà Vu with a Difference
As the new decade begins, India's economy seems headed for strong growth. Optimists predict the country's GDP could increase between 7% and 9% in 2010, stocks are likely to go up, and middle class consumption will continue to drive domestic demand. Still, experts also point to some problem areas, such as rising inflation and a widening fiscal deficit, which is close to 7% of GDP.

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IDFC Project Equity's Vikram Pant: 'In India, There Is Law; in China, There Is Order'
In the years since it was founded in 1997, the Infrastructure Development Finance Co. (IDFC) has become a major funder of India's infrastructure upgrade. The company's Project Equity group manages the US$927 million India Infrastructure Fund, a venture fund that invests equity in infrastructure projects. What costs does poor infrastructure impose on the Indian economy? What challenges do infrastructure builders face as they invest in everything from renewable energy projects to roads and ports? In an interview with India Knowledge@Wharton, Vikram Pant, IDFC Project Equity's managing director, discusses these questions and more.

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Hope or Hype: What Does the Success of India's Auto Expo Mean for the Industry?
In December 2009, the Indian automobile industry stepped on the gas, with sales of passenger cars up a whopping 40.27% compared with the same month in 2008. That figure -- along with the high-profile success of this month's Auto Expo 2010 in New Delhi -- has been taken by many as a clear sign that the Indian car market is heating up. Still, some question the degree to which the success of the Auto Expo represents the health of the overall industry. Moreover, observers say, many of the models introduced at the Expo have more to do with Western automakers' ideas about Indian consumers than on-the-ground realities.

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Medium for the Masses: How India's Local Newspapers Are Winning Rural Readers
At a time when newspapers are folding around the world, India's media scene is admirably buoyant. Why? Many experts give credit to the country's burgeoning rural, local-language newspaper business. According to the Indian Newspaper Society, the country has 62,000 newspapers, with a staggering 90% of them in local languages. But these publications face their own growth challenges, including India's relatively low literacy rate, poor infrastructure and the increasing penetration of television in rural areas.

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