The evolution of Indian multinationals spans diverse sectors, from pharmaceuticals to automotive, hotels, textiles, engineering goods and media & entertainment. Globalisation has given a new meaning and dimension to corporate India and given rise to numerous multinational companies, which have established a credible presence in the international market within a short period. In addition, Indian enterprises are acquiring companies overseas and recruiting talent across domestic boundaries. In global trade, India's position has significantly shifted over the last 25 years, evolving in both product mix and destination markets. COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND THE INDIAN PHARMACEUTICAL AND BIOTECH INDUSTRY Along with illness, COVID-19 brought fear and uncertainties in - what was once - a thriving global community. Amid all this, India is being praised for playing a key role in global recovery. According to a top American scientist, the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines by India in collaboration with the leading global institutions has 'rescued the world' from the deadly coronavirus and this contribution by the country must not be underestimated. India is a prominent and rapidly growing global pharmaceutical giant. The Indian pharmaceutical industry is the world's third-largest drug producer by volume and the largest provider of generic medicines, occupying 20% share in the global supply by volume. The industry supplies~60% of the global demand for vaccines; this constitutes 40-70% supply of Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis (DPT) and Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) vaccines and 90% global demand for measles vaccine. India supplies affordable and low-cost generic drugs to millions of people worldwide and operates >250 US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)-approved plants. In January 2021, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) praised India's vaccine rollout in an article titled 'India's Vaccine Colossus is a Model for the World to Follow', which highlighted that India's Serum Institute is manufacturing vaccines not just for the world's second-most populous country, but also for numerous other countries too. At present, Serum Institute of India (SII) sells ~1.5 billion vaccine doses every year to 170 countries and is the largest producer of vaccines worldwide by volume. India is being called 'pharmacy of the world' amid the COVID-19 pandemic with its vast experience and deep knowledge in medicine. The country is one of the world's biggest drugmakers and an increasing number of countries have already approached it for procuring coronavirus vaccines. According to Reuters, Bharat Biotech, is in the process of filing regulatory documents for the approval of its COVID-19 vaccine, COVAXIN, in >40 countries. The company also in talks with the UAE and Brazil to export doses of its vaccine. In addition, Bharat Biotech has also entered into an agreement with Ocugen Inc., a USbased drug developer, for commercialisation of COVAXIN in the US, which has the highest number of infections in the world. INTERNATIONALISATION STRATEGIES OF INDIAN COMPANIES' OVERSEAS ACQUISITIONS Companies worldwide use cross-border acquisition as the predominant mode of internationalisation. Indian multinationals were found to internationalise faster and that too with higher risk entry modes, such as via acquisitions, compared with other modes. In the past few years, several Indian companies have grown at a rapid pace in both domestic and international markets. Some companies took the merger and acquisition route to scale quickly; and through this strategy, these companiesare able to showcase their capabilities at the global level, with the key focus to access to a larger market, increase their customer base and achieve economies of scale.The COVID-19 pandemic has lowered India's outbound deal volume by 23% in 2020; however, there have been signs of recovery. For instance, Greenko Inc., renewable energy company, is planning to acquire NEC Energy Solutions, a struggling US-based battery maker. In addition, Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd.,the retail arm of Reliance Industries, is eyeing Debenhams, the UKs bankrupt retailer. Recently, the technology sector has been the most acquisitive, with companies such as Infosys, HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra completing overseas acquisitions. In September 2020, HCL announced the acquisition of DWS Ltd., an Australia-based IT solutions provider, for ~US$137 million and completed the acquisition effective January 05, 2021. IT firms are cashrich and keep acquiring overseas companies to build capabilities in weak areas. So, deals in digital, cloud and SaaS (software as a service) space keep seeing healthy activity," said Ajay Garg, Managing Director at Mumbai-based investment banking firm, Equirus Capital. OUTBOUND FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT (OFDI) Outbound investments from India have undergone a considerable change, not only in terms of magnitude but also in terms of geographical spread and sectorial composition. Analysis of trends in direct investments over the last decade revealed that while the flow of investments, both inward and outward, was rather muted in the early part of the decade, it gained momentum in the latter half. Moreover, in the last decade, there has been a perceptible shift in Overseas Investment Destination (OID). While in the first-half, overseas investments were directed to resource-rich countries such as Australia, the UAE and Sudan, in the latter half, OID was channelled into countries, which provided higher tax benefits, such as Mauritius, Singapore, British Virgin Islands and the Netherlands. Indian firms invest in foreign shores primarily through mergers and acquisitions (M&As); and with rising M&A activity, companies will get direct access to newer and more extensive markets and better technologies that would enable them to increase their customer base and achieve a global reach.

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS Partnering with reputable brands in host countries leads to more opportunities in the international market. This helps in the smooth functioning of operations in the international and global market, legal formalities and instils a sense of global presence for the local brand. For example, Starbucks allied with Tata to open its stores in India and many Bollywood production houses collaborated with Fox and Disney to aid with distribution in the global market. KEY INDIAN BRANDS MAKING A MARK IN THE GLOBAL ARENA ASIAN PAINTS Asian Paints is one of the most globally diversified companies of India. The company operates in 22 countries, with 29 manufacturing facilities and provides services to consumers in 65 countries worldwide. The company operates in five regions through its own operations and its three subsidiary companies. To increase its global market presence, the company focused on setting up overseas ventures rather than exporting paint and coating from India. In order to become one of the top five decorative paint companies in the world, the company has been following a strategy of entering fast emerging markets, where market penetration is low and expected growth rates are high. The company started global operations in 1977 when it entered Fiji through a joint venture. Thereafter, in 1979, Asian Paints (South Pacific) Ltd. was established in Fiji and this company went on to become the largest paints company in the island. This was soon followed with five more joint ventures one each in Tonga, Nepal, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Australia. The company's joint ventures in Mauritius and Oman commenced operations in 2000. These two ventures were formed to act as hubs for increasing the market presence in Africa and the Middle East. However, the company exited Mauritius few years ago, as the paints market region had been stagnant for many years and did not fit the strategic plan of the company to be present in fast growing markets. MAHINDRA & MAHINDRA (M&M) Mahindra's tractor business has footprint in >40 countries and a network of 1000+ dealers, with over 1.75 million tractors worldwide. The company entered the American market in 1994. According to the company, Mahindra North America is the world's leading tractor manufacturer by sales. With >75 models and 2.25 million units sold worldwide; Mahindra tractors are available in >45 countries across 6 continents. Also, Mahindra has been dominating the tractor markets in SAARC countries such as Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. In Africa, it is one of the largest tractor brands, with presence in >21 countries including Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Nigeria, Ghana, Angola, Tunisia and South Africa. In South America, Mahindra tractors are sold in Chile, Brazil, Paraguay, Ecuador and Argentina. In Eastern Europe, Mahindra has presence in Turkey, Serbia, and Macedonia and is expanding rapidly in other countries. In three years of its inception, the Mahindra North American Technical Centre (NATC) team 4 recruited from leading OEMs and suppliers, engineered a new Mahindra vehicle platform. Mahindra's recent acquisitions of Pininfarina, an Italian design firm, and Korea's Ssangyong Motor Company are likely to further the scope and influence of Mahindra NATC's role in achieving Mahindra's global automotive aspirations.

Points to consider in your case analysis 1. Globalisation 2. Indian Companies' and Industries' Strategies for growth.

QUESTION - Read the following case study carefully and present an analysis on the same