When people think of the world's best places to visit and conduct business, many would not include India on that list. What
most people don't know is that India is as vibrant, diversified, and sophisticated a country as many of the world's most popular.
Its people, culture, architecture, and cuisine all make visiting and working in India an amazing adventure, filled with hospitality,
warmth, liberation of the mind, and expansion of the stomach!
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Only in India would you arrive at the New Delhi International Airport late at night after a 14 hour flight and without a working
cell phone only to have a taxi driver offer his cell phone so that you may call your ride. Only in India would you find yourself
eating Biryani (a traditional Indian dish) in Hyderabad at midnight with your colleagues and a hundred others who have gathered
to enjoy the local flavor at an odd hour. Only in India would your car be stopped in a busy traffic and exhaust filled intersection
and have an elderly woman cut open the top of a fresh coconut with a machete and place a straw in it so that you can enjoy
a cool refreshing drink.
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But India can be as confusing and slow as much as it seems simple and efficient. It can be scary and overwhelming as much
as it is warm and traditional. India can mean faster, lower-cost clinical trials, but it can also mean 85 people sitting in
the waiting room of a small eye clinic at 9:00pm hoping to get a visit with a doctor before he leaves at 10:00pm after putting
in a 14 hour day. Most will have to go home and try again tomorrow—even though home may be two hours away. India means understanding that to get across Mumbai (Bombay) during the day, you should plan to be in the car for at least
2 hours and that your client may or may not be mad about it if you arrive late. India means knowing that a nice hotel or international
brand hotel in a major Indian city like New Delhi, Mumbai or Hyderabad can run you in the range of $350 to $600 per night.
Only in India do you see a burgeoning middle class driving Honda Accords and Toyota Camrys navigating streets with people
on bicycles and four and five person families crammed onto two wheel motorcycles. These are some of the realities of India today and why India is such a fascinating place to explore and to do business. There
are also many misconceptions and myths associated with conducting business in the BIG I.
This article identifies and explores some of the most common myths related to conducting clinical trials in India today. Understanding
the truths behind each can make entrance and operation in India an enormous strategic advantage for your company. Failure
to understand or getting caught up in the hype could result in a missed golden opportunity or a more difficult path through
India than is necessary.
