BEPNews07SN Indian Economy

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Business English News 07: India’s Economic Growth India's hot economy will not cool down because the country's large pool of young talent and its high savings rate will keep stoking growth, the chief executive officer of Infosys said Thursday. But Nandan Nilekani, whose Indian company is a leading global software provider, acknowledged that India needs to improve its infrastructure if it wants to sustain its annual economic growth of about 8 percent. "Of course, infrastructure is a bottleneck, but I believe that infrastructure is on everybody's radar screen," said Nilekani, visiting Hong Kong to accept Forbes Magazine’s "Asia Businessman of the Year" award. The executive also said the rapid growth will ramp up the pressure on India to develop trained talent. "That's something that needs more public and private investment," he said at a news conference. Infosys, which in 1999 was the first Indian company to list on the Nasdaq, the American stock exchange, writes and develops software for Western companies like Goldman Sachs and J.C. Penney Co. Nilekani said the firm, based in the southern Indian city of Bangalore, plans to hire 30,000 people this year and receives 1.4 million job applications each year. India will be able to sustain its economic growth partly because of its demographics, he said. "In the next 20 to 25 years, India will have the largest pool of young people in the age group of 15 to 65 and that's a big thing," "Globally, nobody else will have that advantage," claimed Mr Nilekani. He added that India's economic growth was also due to a savings rate of between 22 percent and 30 percent in the last several years. "We expect the savings rate to go up even further," he said. He said that Infosys wasn't worried about a potential economic downturn, especially in the United States. "We haven't heard anything from our customers that there will be a slowdown in their spending on technology," he said.

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Background India's economy has long been overshadowed by the rapid rise of China and SE Asia. More recently though, attention has started to turn to India, whose strong economic growth and skilled workforce have spurred interest. Many economists are now predicting steady growth at 8% per year with India set to become a 1 trillion dollar economy by 2008. We use this article to look at some of the English words and expressions you can use to talk about economic trends and human resources.

Vocabulary 1.

hot (economy) If something is hot then it means that it is popular or doing very well. In this case they said India’s economy is hot - meaning it is doing very well. Examples: The Hong Kong market is hot right now, you can easily make a quick profit. Last year the property market was really hot, but now we’re seeing a slow down in sales.

2.

cool down Cool down means something is not doing well or growing anymore – so if something cools down then it is no longer hot. Example: The retail market is meant to cool down next quarter according to the latest forecasts.

3.

pool of talent Pool can be used to talk about a large group of something – in this case, talent. We often use this phrase to talk about resources such as the workforce or talent – talent meaning the ability or skill of the workforce. Example: Companies like Microsoft and Google need a huge pool of talent to keep turning out new ideas.

4.

stoking growth This is another good use of metaphoric language – stoke traditionally means to put more fuel on the fire, but we often use it in business to describe major factors that are driving growth or helping a business do well.

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Example: Demand from the US is stoking growth in exports from Asia. We often collocate stoke with ‘fear’. Example: The recent action by Gazprom to cut off oil supplies to Belarus is stoking fears of another winter oil shortage in Germany and Poland.

5.

acknowledge To admit to something or to accept the reality of a situation. Example: Infosys’s CEO acknowledged, or admitted, that India’s infrastructure is an obvious concern.

6.

infrastructure The basic facilities – such as roads, buildings, telecommunications etc – of a country or enterprise. Examples: Singapore has excellent infrastructure. China has been investing heavily in its infrastructure to maintain economic growth.

7.

sustain To keep something going or to strengthen something – in this case India’s economic growth. Example: To sustain growth, GE is looking to expand further into Asian markets.

8.

bottleneck A blockage or a narrowing of a passage that interrupts the flow of movement. Example: There’s a communications bottleneck in Asia due to the earthquake in Taiwan.

9.

radar screen This is a common idiomatic expression used to refer to things in the future that are approaching quickly and are very likely to happen. Example: Beckham’s leaving Real Madrid has been on the radar screen since the summer.

10.

ramp up to increase (collocates strongly with production, meaning to increase production):

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So Mr Nilekani is saying rapid economic growth is increasing pressure on India to develop a higher number, or bigger pool, of skilled workers. Example: Technology companies are ramping up investment into India.

11.

stock exchange A place where company shares, or stocks (American English), are bought and sold. Example: China Mobile is listed on both the New York and Hong Kong stock exchanges.

12.

demographics Refers to the structure or make up of an areas population. Example: Recent demographic studies show the Europe’s population is growing older.

13.

globally Worldwide or all over the world. Example: English is globally recognized as the language of international business. [Meaning English is used around the world to conduct business.]

14.

downturn A decline in the performance of a company or a county’s economy. Downturn is often collocated with economy as in this example to describe a decline or slowdown in a nations economy: Example: The US economy experienced a significant downturn in 2000.

15.

slowdown Literally to slow down; mainly used to refer to a decline in different economic indicators, i.e. consumer spending, production, services etc. Example: The latest economic survey from UBS found 53% of fund managers expect to see a slowdown in consumer spending.

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