India has failed to win export contracts to make computer hardware for US firms because they fear the huge distance between the two countries could cause delivery delays, according to a report from the Indian Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology, published in New Delhi: In spite of India’s advantage in low cost manufacturing being acknowledged, the US manufacturers prefer to go to Mexico as it provides them with familiar territory it says, adding that although India has a low-cost manufacturing base and a large pool of trained manpower to meet US needs, US firms that have already looked at the prospect are concerned about India’s notorious bureaucracy and procedural delays, the study says; the lobby’s secretary-general Vijay Chopra told Reuters the Indian hardware market, including exports, was worth over $422m in 1992-93, and was growing at some 15% a year.
