Language
India’s Variety of languages
The World Factbook by CIA states that there is not official language in India; however the most widely spoken language in India is Hindi. The percentage of languages spoken in India are as follows; Hindi 41%, Bengali 8.1%, Telugu 7.2%, Marathi 7%, Tamil 5.9%, Urdu 5%, Gujarati 4.5%, Kannada 3.7%, Malayalam 3.2%, Oriya 3.2%, Punjabi 2.8%, Assamese 1.3%, Maithili 1.2%, other 5.9% (The World Factbook 2013-14. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2013). Even though Hindi is the most common language in India, there are still many other languages spoken throughout India, so targeting India considering only Hindi is a bad strategy.
English as an emerging language
Due to India becoming globalized and emerging as an economy, English is becoming an important language in India once again{{2 AZAM,MEHTABUL 2013;}}. Reports show that there is a correlation between increased wages and being fluent in English in India (Table 3). There is a clear increase of 34% shown in male wages due to fluency in English {{2 AZAM,MEHTABUL 2013;}}. Globalization and reverse brain drain are some of the factors that are increasing the demand for English in India. The CIA World Factbook states that English language the most important in “national, political, and commercial communication.” (The World Factbook 2013-14. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2013). Since India is an emerging market it is apparent why the country has a new demand for English speaking individuals. History shows that, “Much of Indian business culture extends back to the time of British rule, explaining why English is the common language” {{4 Anonymous 2013;}}, thus giving Americans an advantage when doing business with Indians. This factor might cause an underestimation of doing business in India since there are many cultural, as well as the many religions and languages to consider for being effective in India.
Religion
Diversity of Religions
As it is seen by the language disparity in India, there is diversity that an American needs to consider. Religion in India is similar to language since there are many though out the country. “India is a home for a variety of cultures such as Hindu culture, Dravidian culture, Aryan culture, Anglo-Indian Christian culture, Islamic culture; and a number of tribes and their cultures symbolizing the unity in diversity” {{3 Gore,Vitthal 2013;}}. Religion in India forms a variety of cultures since people live by their religious standards, Mergent’s country profile provided the percentages of religions in India based on the census, “Hindu 80.5%, Muslim 13.4%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.1%” (2001 census)

Hindu customs Hinduism creates a different environment in India that we must understand because, “Hindu religion is a living philosophy rather than a dogmatic religion” {{8 Jain,L.C. 2006;}}. People live by the standards set out by their religion which creates a way of life for Indian culture. Hinduism affects business regarding charity. “The recipient is highly regarded in part because he or she is represented as standing outside of the ordinary bonds of reciprocity that accrue to those participating in social and economic intercourse" {{9 Eck,Diana L. 2013;}}. Giving money or gifts to those in need is looked highly upon, due to religious duties. The giver can be seen as a negative however, if the giving is not done correctly. A gift is seen as “tainted” if it is meant for receiving something in return or “dark” if the gift is given to someone who is not in need{{9 Eck,Diana L. 2013;}}. A company should be careful when practicing philanthropist deeds as it may be seen as a greedy intent for consumer encouragement and damage the company image.
Family
There is a hierarchical structure in Indian families. Power comes from either wealth, being male or elderly. (ASIA SOCIETY ORG 2014.) The power relations among men and women can be seen in