Establishing a Japanese transplant company in the Indian automobile industry: a qualitative study of cultural disrespect

The purpose of this policy note is to respond to the request from the Government of India for the World Bank to provide support to the development of the urban transport agenda in India and to provide lending support. During the discussions between the World Bank and the Government of India represented by the Ministry of Finance, the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) agreed on a three year program of support 2005-2008 reflected in the World Bank's Country Strategy for India September 15, 2004. Support is currently reflected in the operations program as an urban transport project under consideration and as a policy note as part of the non-lending services. In conjunction with these operations support to urban roads are included in Chennai under the Tamil Nadu Third Urban Development Project and in Bangalore under the Karnataka Municipal Reform Project.

Towards a discussion of support to urban transport development in India

This report is intended to facilitate the discussions between the World Bank and the Governments of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, City Governments of Chennai and Bangalore, on possibly expanding the Bank's urban transport assistance in these two cities, and elsewhere in the two states. The report consists of a diagnostic chapter, a discussion of pivotal issues, a reformulated strategy, and a menu of possible Bank-funded projects to support this strategy. Case studies of urban transport in Chennai and Bangalore, the basis for the report, are attached.

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Urban transport in Chennai and Bangalore

In the face of pressing environmental challenges, governments must pledge to achieve sustainability transitions within an accelerated timeline, faster than leaving these transitions to the market mechanisms alone. This had led to an emergent approach within the sustainability transition research (STR): Accelerated policy-driven sustainability transitions (APDST). Literature on APDST asserts its significance in addressing pressing environmental and development challenges as regime actors like policymakers enact change. It also assumes support from other incumbent regime actors like the industries and businesses. In this study, we identify the reasons for which incumbent industry and business actors might support APDST and whether their support can suffice for implementation. We examine the actor strategies by drawing empirical data from the Indian national government policy of mandatory leapfrog in internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle emission control norms, known as Bharat Stage 4 to 6. This leapfrogging policy was introduced to speed up the reduction of air pollutants produced by the transport sector. A mixed-methods approach, combining multimodal discourse analysis and netnographic research, was deployed for data collection and analysis. The findings show that unlike the status quo assumption in STR, many incumbent industry and business actors aligned with the direction of the enacted policy due to the political landscape and expected gains. However, the degree of support varied throughout the transition timeline and was influenced by challenges during the transitioning process and the response of the government actors. The case suggests we pay more attention to the actors’ changing capacities and needs and consider internal and external influences in adapting the transition timelines. This study contributes to the ongoing discussion on the implementation of APDST, by examining the dynamism of actor strategies, and provides an overview of sustainability transitions in emerging economies.

Implementation of Accelerated Policy-Driven Sustainability Transitions: Case of Bharat Stage 4 to 6 Leapfrogs in India

Seventh Five-Year Plan, 1985-90, and annual plan, 1985-86

This paper studies the evolution of the competitive structure of the two-wheeler industry in India. The evolution of the industry's competitive structure is traced using Kendall's index of Rank Concordance and the Evans-Karras test of convergence. The industry seems to be characterized by oligopoly with the onset of economic reforms in 1991 not making much difference to industrial structure. Convergence of sales and capacity at the level of the industry is conditional while it is absolute at the level of the segment.

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The Evolution and Structure of the Two Wheeler Industry in India

The Indian industrial sector has undergone profound regulatory changes as a consequence of economic reforms in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This paper analyzes the impact that economic reforms have had on the market structure of the Indian two-wheeler industry and related implications for the design of an appropriate regulatory mechanism in response. The evolution of the two-wheeler (motorcycles, mopeds and scooters) industry structure is traced using Kendall's index of rank concordance and the Evans-Karras test of convergence. This analysis indicates that the industry seems to be characterized by oligopoly, with the onset of economic reforms making little difference to industrial structure, although the degree of concentration has declined. Non-price competition appears to be the norm for this industry, due to broad banding. Declining firms have introduced more, although similar, brands, and this leads to highly fractured markets and persistent oligopolistic tendencies.

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Sunila George

Papers

The Evolution and Structure of the Two Wheeler Industry in India

The evolution and structure of the two-wheeler industry in india*