India unbranded

BS OPINION

 Still, this issue appears to exercise industrialists so much that, at the AdAsia summit in Jaipur, Mukesh Ambani and Kumar Mangalam Birla thought fit to share a platform on the subject.

 Both presentations stand out for their muscular patriotism rather than their sense of judgment. It requires little introspection to establish that such national brand building is premature.

 As even the newest B-school graduate will tell you, a brand must stand for certain values and there is nothing more dangerous than a brand that fails to live up to its promise. Brand India is headed just that way.

 Messrs Birla and Ambani clearly derive their viewpoints from the opinions, echoed at endless symposia and seminars, about India