In September 1989, Jack Welch, then General Electric Co.’s chairman, flew to India for a sales call. He hoped to sell products like airplane engines and plastics to the Indian government.
But during a breakfast meeting with top government advisers, it was Mr. Welch who got pitched. “We want to sell you software,” Sam Pitroda, chief technology adviser to the late Indian Premier Rajiv Gandhi, told a surprised Mr. Welch. Mr. Pitroda explained that India needed business for its emerging high-tech sector.
“If I kiss your cheek, what do I get in return?” the GE chairman replied, according to two men who were present.
Fifteen years later, the answer is clear: the global outsourcing revolution.
India today earns more than $17 billion from corporations worldwide seeking low-cost overseas talent to do everything from writing software to collecting debts to designing semiconductors. GE in large measure stoked the phenomenon, playing an unheralded role as the Johnny Appleseed of India Inc. and reaping billions in savings for itself along the way, referring to the legendary folk figure who roamed the American countryside planting apple seeds.
For this complete story, please visit In India’s Outsourcing Boom, GE Played a Starring Role.
