India is providing Honeywell International Inc not just business opportunities but also global leaders for its various verticals.

The company has seven manufacturing units and five global technology and engineering centres in India with over 13,000 employees. Shane Tedjarati, President and CEO, Global High Growth Regions, Honeywell, told BusinessLine in an interview that the West has a soft-spot for India. But he added the Government needs to deliver on its promises. Edited excerpts:

Honeywell has been in India for over 10 years, how would you compare the current government with the previous ones?

In the past 10 years, our going was good because India has had a good run. There were a couple of years of stagnation. But now, there is a lot more confidence about things getting done. We see that positivity in helping people make decisions faster. However, a lot of it is left on the legislation that are to come. Generally, the trend has been up and this is the most positive time for the Indian economy that I have seen in a decade.

Is all the positivity in the air, though?

So far, I haven’t heard from the Indian businesses that this Government is not working. In terms of our own business, we grew fairly well last year in India and this year, we expect to do even better. India is in our top quartile of contributors to growth. All of the growth of Honeywell is coming from high growth regions. China is the biggest contributor, but India is second. So it is a big portion of our growth.

Has it become easier to sell the India growth story to your global boardroom?

In the past year, it has become a lot easier to sell the India growth story. Generally, speaking, the West has had a soft spot for India, which is why everyone is happy that there is a resurgence of positivity in India. But what made China more attractive was that over the last two decades, they built infrastructure and an atmosphere for manufacturing. But as we saw three or four years ago, despite all the soft spot, when the returns aren’t there, the foreign direct investment goes elsewhere. Capital is a coward. It goes to places where there is a decent return. Banking on the current atmosphere, delivering on it from the Government is very important.

How has the trend of domestic sales versus exports been and do you see the domestic market improving for you right now?

We have seen a 10-fold increase in our sales in India.

When I talk about contribution to growth, it is external sales in India, which is growing in double digits. If you don’t have that focus for the domestic market, you de-rate India as an outsourcing hub.

How important is India for Honeywell in the global scheme of things?

India for us is a big business, a big export market, but another phenomenon that has been happening is that it is producing a lot of global leaders for us. Our global management committee has Krishna Mikkilineni who has a huge role in the company. I think it’s because, Indians are more worldly. It’s their connection to the rest of the world. It’s also that Indians bring a different perspective. If an Indian guy sitting in Minneapolis is running a global business, from the outset that business will be for serving the whole world. It is a by-product of this market.

Which are the high growth business sectors for you in India?

Right now, energy is a good sector to be in, whether its energy security, energy processing or energy efficiency. Everything that goes around the modernisation of an urbanising country is good, so that includes security and safety. Big trend in India is having a car, which is form of liberation. This is why the automotive business is doing exceedingly well here. The aviation sector has been strong throughout. Defence is at an inflection point and can grow bigger.

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