India

From a cultural point of view, India has been traditionally associated with tranquility, traditionalism, and spiritual improvement. The Indian understanding of the word culture is a proof of it. The Indian word for the culture Sanskriti means to transform, purify, and sublimate (Rao, 2014). In addition, the most outstanding Indian leaders proclaim that this country should be regarded as an untouched jewelry in the heart of the turbulent world. For example, Mahatma Gandhi, a spiritual mentor and leader of movement for the Indian Independence, stated the following fact. The role of India was to save justice and other moral values but not to follow the modern harmful tendencies of life of the Great Britain (Rao, 2014). Nevertheless, the increased globalization of the 21^st century has brought the dramatic changes in the general picture of India. Open borders and increased competitiveness between countries have inspired Indians to improve not only the spiritual world but also the outer one. Nevertheless, it has brought also many problems. That is why the impact of globalization on India is ambiguous as it has both positive and negative sides.

Positive Effects of Globalization on India

Firstly, globalization has pushed India to improve the level of its technological development. As open borders and close relationships between countries create an atmosphere of competitiveness, the country has decided to be equal with others in term of innovations and breakthroughs. Especially, it can be noticed in the field of space exploration. The Indian Space Research Organization has the status of one of the best ones in the whole world. It is characterized by high technologies and the allocation of different resources. For example, in 2013, the Indian government inaugurated the first mission to Mars. The reported cost of it is approximately 73$ million (Lewis, 2014). This attempt to reach the red planet has put India in the same line with other well-developed countries such as China and the United States. In addition, India is a leader in the well-known lunar explorations. In 2008, India launched satellites to explore the moon. The lunar mission, Chadrayaan-1, costs about $ 90 million (Lewis, 2014). There are also many projects planned for the future. For instance, India is going to make a second lunar probe with a lunar lander built by Russia in 2017. A manned spaceflight program is also in the plans of the Indian government. The intended date for it is 2020 (Lewis, 2014).

Secondly, globalization has broadened a sphere of marketing in India. Nowadays, the Indian consumers have an opportunity to enjoy not only the local products but also the famous international brands. The most desired goods for Indian people, according to the article “Marketing Strategies of Global Brands in Indian Markets”, are the mobile devices of the Western companies Apple and Samsung and the clothes of the Western designers like Nike, Adidas, Gucci, LV, etc. Even concerning the choice of food, shoppers prefer the Western brands like Coca Cola, McDonalds, Snickers, and Nescafe (Taneja, Girdhar, & Gupta, 2012). In addition, Indian people under the impact of globalization have gained the mechanisms to control the worldwide market. It has been estimated that, in 2014, the Indian youth was responsible for the enrichment of global luxury market by 10% (Schultz & Jain, 2013). The extension of the Indian market can be also noticed in the sphere of services. For example, if to take into consideration cinema and music, it is possible to notice that Indians prefer the performances of not only local celebrities such as Ayumi Hamasaki (Japan), Rain (Korea), Jay Chou (Taiwan), and Faye Wong (Beijing) but also of some Western Hollywood stars such as Madonna, Victoria Beckham, Jessica Alba, etc. (Brown, Caverly, Goodman, Post, & Wong, 2015). It encourages them to follow the Indian style and fashion. The proof of it can be noticed in the site punjabiportal.com, which presents the photos of Western celebrities in Indian traditional dresses (“Western celebrities in Indian dresses,” 2011).

Finally, globalization has increased the cultural outlook of Indians. Nowadays, traditional customs and traditions are completed with international ones. For example, under the influence of the Western world, there is a significant change in the style of relationships between males and females. According to the traditions, unmarried women were prohibited to spend time with men without a supervision of relatives. Nowadays, the border between genders has been destroyed. From the early years, boys and girls have an opportunity to socialize together. The understanding of marriage and families has been also completely modified. Modern Indians do not regard marriage as an institution, which unites the generation. It is a common style for young people to live separately from parents. The old value of Indian society to take care of parents and grandparents has been partially lost. Due to it, there is an increasing number of old age homes. In addition, marriage is not treated anymore as an indissoluble divine union. Divorce is a normal practice for the Indian youth as it gives them a chance not to feel the dependence from spouses. Modern marriage in India is nothing more than the commitment to share everyday duties without compromising the self-interests (Bhela, 2011). It is a positive new thing as Indian citizens become free and independent. The style of holiday celebration has also given a tribute to globalization. It was the norm many years ago to celebrate festivals splendidly with the enjoyment of togetherness. Modern Indians do not like to spend their time in vain. They have acquired a principle that time is equal to money. Due to it, diplomatic and business relationships are in trend (Bhela, 2011).

Negative Effects of Globalization on India

Firstly, the desire to compete with other countries has made the Indian government allocate the resources ineffectively. Although India takes an active part in the space exploration, the biggest part of its citizens lives in poverty. It is estimated that almost 67 percent of its population is actually poor, according to the new poverty line (Kaul, 2013).  In addition, the spending of money on technological developments but not on the social programs deprives Indians of the opportunity to become successful citizens from both physical and psychological perspectives. According to the statistics, approximately 43% of Indian children are malnourished. Generally, this amount forms the third of the world’s total. In addition, in average, 50% of kids are underweight at the age of 1-5 (Pinstrup-Andersen & Cnehq, 2009). Moreover, they have problems with education as more than 50% of children are illiterate (Pinstrup-Andersen & Cnehq, 2009). In addition, India suffers from the lack of work places and underemployment. Millions of citizens cannot find appropriate jobs. Such a situation significantly limits their possibilities and opportunities.

Secondly, an increase of international products on the Indian market oppresses the local companies. In other words, a national manufacturer cannot compete with well-known brands. It has a negative impact on the Indian economy, as the main sources of incomes to the Union budget are personal taxes, the taxes from national companies, and the taxes for the super-rich people. In addition, globalization has destroyed the most productive Indian sphere, i.e. agriculture. The work in this area is regarded as a shameful practice by Indian youth. The International MCN is treated by them as a more reliable source of work (Sundaram, 2007). International companies also deal with disadvantages under the influence of globalization. They cannot fully satisfy the needs of Indians, as they do not know the religious and cultural peculiarities of this country. For example, with the entrance of McDonald’s on the Indian market, the feelings of many religious people were hurt. The main reason for it was an advertising campaign of beefsteaks made from the meat of cow, which is treated as a sacred animal in India (Taneja, Girdhar, & Gupta, 2012).

Thirdly, the destruction of traditional cultural values has made India vulnerable and unstable. Nowadays, Indian women cannot feel protected from the sexual desires of men. The free relationships between boys and girls, in many cases, lead to an unplanned pregnancy or sexual abuses. In addition, a family cannot be treated anymore as a main stronghold of the society. The indifference of young generation towards the old ones creates a generation gap. Moreover, as the number of divorces in India has doubled in the last five years, the psychological health of the nation is deteriorating. The research, conducted on women left alone with children after the divorce has indicated that they were predisposed to neuroses. These women indicated that they had felt the prolonged anxiety. The reason is that it was difficult in the Indian society to find a well-paid job for females (Rubin, & Chung, 2013). Moreover, the future of the nation i.e. children are under a threat. The research, conducted on Indian single parent families, has found that children, who had lived in them, reported suffering negative psychological and socioeconomic conditions. Moreover, they also manifested the symptoms of a low well-being and emotional insecurity (Rubin, & Chung, 2013). Besides, globalization is harmful for not only the separate groups of people, but also for the whole society. It cannot be doubted that traditions have helped to create the unity between people. As Indians refuse to follow them, they ruin the spiritual connection between citizens and the motherland.

Fourthly, globalization stimulates people to the migration. Although this social process is not new for the Indian society, Indians have moved in response to religious persecutions, environmental catastrophes, and political conflicts in the 21^st century. Globalization becomes uncontrolled. Firstly, it can be noticed on the inner level. As the most significant desire for modern Indians is to get income, they leave their small villages and towns to find well-paid jobs in the cities. The most popular route for the inner migration is from agricultural regions such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, southern Madhya Pradesh, and southern Rajasthan to industrially developed states, i.e. Punjab, Gujarat, and Maharashtra (Srivastava 2003). The consequence of this migration is overpopulation of cities and decline of the agricultural sphere in villages. Secondly, uncontrolled migration can be also noticed on the outer level. In 2010, India had the second highest number of immigrants in the world. It was estimated that in 2010, approximately, 11.4 million of Indians decided to leave their homes to look for the better living conditions in the foreign countries (Ghate, 2012). The most popular of them for immigration are the United Arab Emirates (2.2 million), the United States (1.7 million), Saudi Arabia (1.5 million), and Bangladesh (1.1. million) (Ghate, 2012). The process has had many negative consequences for India. As the number of population decreases, the budget loses the sources of its income. In addition, immigration leads to the shortage of workforce in India. Moreover, immigrants themselves also experience a negative effect. In many cases, the local population treats them in an arrogant way. The main reasons for it are their poor education, peculiarities of cultural outlook, and economic conditions of Indian immigrants.

Finally, globalization contributes to the deterioration of natural conditions. The increased number of cities is associated with increasing carbon emissions, air and water pollution. The proofs of it are presented in the research “India’s Urban Environment: Air and Water Pollution and Pollution Abatement”. According to it, average per capita carbon emissions in the cities of India exceeds the permissible limits significantly being 1.19 tons per capita (Sridhar & Kumar, 2013). The situation with air and water pollution is even worse. In 2009, the National Air Quality Monitoring Program indicated the following fact. 101 cities out from 127 ones report at least one pollutant exceeding the annual average air and water quality standard. Most of the cities have pointed out that the single most important cause for pollution of ground and surface water in India is the discharge of untreated sewage (Sridhar & Kumar, 2013). The development of technologies also is responsible for the pollution of environment. For example, industrialization affects about 13% of CO2 emissions in the country (Sridhar & Kumar, 2013). In addition, a close of the government-owned plants under the pressure of the increased international market leads to the generation in these areas of wastewaters, which percolates in the soil (Sridhar & Kumar, 2013).

Possible Solution

The analysis of the globalization impact on India has shown that it has both positive and negative sides. That is why the essential task is to preserve the benefits and eliminate the drawbacks, brought by globalization. On the economic level, the solution can be formulated in such a way  to support the strong national source of production agriculture. If India develops agriculture effectively, it will be able to allocate the resources in the budget as well provide citizens with work places. The proof of it can be noticed on the example of a well-developed agricultural zone under the name green revolution areas, which still exists in India. It attracts almost 50 % of Indian workers similarly to the metropolises because of high salaries and proper working conditions. In addition, green revolution areas are responsible for 17 % of this country’s gross domestic product (Dubey, 2015). On the social level, taking into consideration the high poverty rate, it is a reasonable decision to pay more attention to social problems than to the technological improvement. Actually, the scientific development of the country is possible only in case it has a solid social and financial background. The allocation of resources, intended for space exploration, will improve the conditions of life in India. Due to it, many people (potential workforce) will return from foreign countries. On the cultural level, the solution is to mix national traditions with borrowings from other countries. For example, it is necessary to return the belief in power of the divine connection between spouses. It will help to make the institution of marriage stable as it was many years ago. Nevertheless, it is necessary not to prohibit girls to communicate with boys before marriage. The practice of the Western world has shown the following fact. The families created due to the personal will of newlyweds gives more opportunities for self-fulfillment than those created under the pressure of parents or other relatives.

Conclusion

To sum up, the impact of globalization on India is ambiguous. On the one hand, it brings such benefits as technological advancement, outspread of international marketing, and extension of cultural outlook. On the other hand, such drawbacks of globalization as ineffective allocation of resources, oppression of local manufacturers, the destruction of traditional cultural values, and uncontrolled migration should be also taken into consideration. That is why the essential task is to preserve benefits and eliminate drawbacks, brought by globalization. The possible solution is to keep national strong sides (e.g. agriculture and spiritual culture) and combine them with the achievement of other countries (e.g. freedom in relationships between women and men).

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