Our country is the second largest in terms of population; we
have around 66% of the population in the working age group and with a literacy
rate of ~74%, India is a fast-developing country or apparently so. Ironically we
are also the country with an unemployment rate of ~10%, one of the highest
amongst countries. We are excessively dependent on foreign goods, starting from
mere toothpaste to fashionable clothes; we find the imprints of foreign brands.
The adoption rate for locally made products are very limited compared to
branded goods which is indeed a dampener for our economy. Whereas going by the positive
statistics, this shouldn’t have been the case. But time and again 2 key indices
has been ignored – ‘Quality’ and ‘Durability’. Local products score very low in
terms of these two most important parameters; we have little or no faith on
domestic goods. In a country where quality and customer satisfaction often
takes a back seat, how can we hope to progress?
It
is high time we start addressing these stumbling blocks or else we will risk
losing out entirely on the growing consumer base. With the ever increasing
demand, our country should try on increasing and retaining customers by
improving the quality and standard of products. Quality norms must be stricter
and should leave no ground for customer complaints. Customers should be
encouraged to come up with complaints; a reward system should be in place so as
to make the process ‘actually’ work. Although in the current scenario this
looks like a far cry, but am hopeful of a day when we also will be proud to own
something which is ‘Made in India’.
