In God we trust; for everyone else relationship is a must

It is not uncommon to meet a European who is in awe of Indian culture but scared to go to India.

You can’t blame them given the countless stories of tourists getting scammed in India. In fact, Google and YouTube have enough content that can convince anyone to never set foot on Indian soil!!!

So, when a friend planning to visit India in 2023 forwarded this 80 Tourist Scams in India: Everything You Need To Know! (chainomad.com) and sent a few questions. I immediately called him.

After more than an hour of discussion, he was happy that we spoke.

What did I tell him?

For starters, I told him that there are thousand ways of getting scammed in India or for that matter almost anywhere in the world.

I remember my first trip alone to Delhi from Mumbai. My mom was scared that I would get scammed by a thug at the Delhi airport. She was worried for my safety and security.

But my dad, a sales Manager who had to travel the length and breadth of the country for work, asked her – you’ve not seen the thugs in Mumbai?

Or how can I forget a friend in Mumbai asking me if moving to Paris was a good decision because she’d watched Taken!!

Or the countless incidents of wallet snatching in Paris metros – even I have lost a gold chain.

An individual or an organization can be a victim of fraud and theft almost anywhere in the world today.

So, don’t worry, I told him. You are doing your research, keep at it; you’ve also got a list of dos and don’ts from a Mumbaikar and most importantly, be vigilant but don’t let all this dampen the holiday spirit.

Which gets me to my favorite subject – helping European companies explore the Indian business opportunity.

Now, I’ve had to face a lot of questions there too. Luckily, business folk are not only pragmatic but also capitalistic which kind of helps in explaining a lot of trouble that a foreign entity can run into while doing business in India.

Also, they take utmost precautions which includes necessary due diligence and required checks and balances while entering new markets. Unfortunately, there is no dearth of horror stories there too.

So, whether you are heading to India for business or pleasure, keep these three things in mind:

1. Do some desktop research pretty much like our Counterparty Dipstick. This will help in not only identifying the challenges but also in customising the checklist before embarking on an Indian journey
2. Get some feedback from real people. How else do you think we know what’s going on in a neighbor’s, friend’s, colleague’s life? It’s not that we don’t value privacy but safety and security take precedence. Our Reputational Diligence does just that for European firms in India
3. When in doubt, get an independent opinion from India Opportunity Partners