State Of The States In India And America
Trying to draw parallels between India's 28 states and America's 50 states may seem like comparing apples and oranges, a far-fetched exercise in futility. Yet, for those given to such whimsical thinking, at least a few debatable connections can be made. India and America are, after all, as the clich� goes, the two largest democracies in the world. Take Maharashtra and California. Both these western states have not only the largest economies in their respective nations, but also, just as Maharashtra's biggest city is synonymous with Bollywood, California's biggest metro is synonymous with Hollywood. Besides being entertainment capitals, Bombay and Los Angeles are the second most populated cities in their respective countries. India's most populated city, Calcutta, is on the east coast, while New York, America's largest city, is on the eastern seaboard of this country. Both are leading cultural and artistic centers. India's Silicon Valley, Bangalore, is in Karnataka rather than Maharahtra; still, like the original hi-tech hub in San Jose, Bangalore is in the western part of the country. While California's Napa Valley is the top wine producer in America, Maharashtra's Nashik Valley holds that honor in India. And not surprisingly, these two states have the most number of vineyards in their respective countries.
Going beyond such playful (fanciful?) comparisons, however, there is no doubt that India and the U.S. are becoming inextricably linked in the 21st century. Here are just a few facts culled from Mira Kamdar's recent Planet India: An estimated one million American jobs have already been outsourced to India. By 2015, an estimated 305 million white-collar U.S. jobs, along with $151 billion in wages, will be outsourced to India. American corporations expect to earn $20 to $40 billion from the civilian nuclear agreement with India. In 2007, there are 2.2 million Indian Americans, a number expected to double every decade. By 2000, Indian Americans either owned or were in the top management positions at 40 percent of all Silicon start-ups and had a collective net worth of $62 billion. By 2009, 20 percent of IBM's worldwide workforce of approximately 3000 employees will be in India. According to an article in Business Week last year, 30,000 expats work for tech and outsourcing companies in India, an increase of 300 percent in three years. TimeOut Mumbai, the Bombay edition of TimeOut magazine, estimates the number of Americans working and living in Bombay at 4000.
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