Many Westerners have heard of India's caste system, but a thorough understanding of its ins and outs is still relatively uncommon. The following sections reveal the nitty-gritty of the caste system. What's the caste system? Broadly speaking, a caste system is a process of placing people in occupational groups.

First impressions are important wherever you go, and business etiquette can change quickly as you move from country to country. The good news is that Indians welcome the opportunity to work with foreigners, making your adjustment much easier. Remember a few crucial points, and you can easily roll with the cultural punches and conduct your business smoothly.

You can break down business-to-business (B2B) selling in China into the broad categories of products and services. The large product categories of B2B sales in China are Product componentsRaw materialsCapital equipment (such as factory machines and telecom equipment)On the service side, businesses are commonly selling other businesses the following: ConsultingSoftware/IT outsourcingFinancial servicesBusinesses' purchasing decisions are more complex than consumers'.

If you travel to China, for business or pleasure, you need to understand how Chinese money works so you can exchange currency and go about your business without fear of being conned or scammed. And you will need to exchange currency because, for now, cash is king in China. You can find ATMs in all the big cities.

Religion is a way of life in India, and religious business ceremonies are common occurrences. Everything a Hindu does is an act offered up to God, and emphasis is placed on the acts themselves, not rewards for the acts. So each new beginning is dedicated to the Gods to seek their blessings, and new beginnings associated with business in India are no exception.

India can lay claim to one of the world's oldest civilizations, and its economic history is truly long and complicated. India's beginnings and pre-colonial times The Indus Valley civilization, an urbanized society that thrived between 2800 BC and 1800 BC, was economically very sound. The city-states of Mohenjo, Daro, and Harappa were well-planned and apparently carried on a flourishing trade with other civilizations, such as the Mesopotamians, Sumerians, and Egyptians.

If you want to do business in India, it is important to recognize some essential economic laws in India. These include laws framed as early as 1872 (which are still applicable) as well as those framed just a few years ago. Broadly speaking, you need to be familiar with 20 essential economic laws, listed here in chronological order.

Discovering the best methods for procuring information from the Indian government makes life much easier for you as you set up and grow your business. Lucky for you, a recent legislative development has greatly simplified the process — the Right To Information (RTI) Act. The RTI Act was passed in June 2005 and went into effect in October of that year.

To do business successfully in China, or anywhere for that matter, you must remember one of the first rules of marketing: Know thy customer. The demographics of the consumer class in China aren't like they are in the West, and you need a good grasp on who your customers are and what they want if you want to compete with Chinese businesses.