读英文报 － Made in India

From USA Today, May 23, 2017

Anyone need a suit of armor? Go to India

NEW DELHI — A slick "Make in India" campaign aims to attract cellphone and high-tech manufacturers to the country, but one successful firm is taking a cue（提示，暗示） from the Middle Ages.

A company named Lord of Battles in the northern city of Dehradun supplies handcrafted swords, shields, armor and other medieval artifacts to famous shows, including HBO's Game of Thrones, the BBC's Merlin series and FX's The Bastard Executioner. 

The secret to beating out competitors from China, Poland and the Czech Republic: “We don’t use any modern methods,” said founder Saurabh Mahajan, a former captain in the Indian army. “All the items are handmade, hand sewn, hand hammered.”

Lord of Battles takes advantage of India's ample cheap labor, but it also relies on the country's pool of skilled craftsmen. When starting his business in 2005, Mahajan traveled to the leather-making hub of Kanpur, an industrial city in the neighboring state of Uttar Pradesh, to convince a few dozen craftsmen making belts and bags to switch to armor.

Mahajan has long harbored an interest in the colonial-era ceremonial dress and arms of the British regiments （军团）stationed in India until the country’s independence in 1948. Shortly after his stint （从事某项工作的时间）in the army, Mahajan happened to meet an Australian costume designer looking for medieval （中世纪的）props（道具）. He secured his first order, for $300.

Happy with the props he delivered, the designer helped him make contacts with other theatrical （剧场的）companies until Lord of Battles got its big break.

“The company that really gave me a big jump was the Royal Shakespeare Company,” Mahajan said. “Their costume designer really helped me to get more orders.”

Today, Lord of Battles exports 100% of its products, with nearly all its customers in Europe and the United States

The company is an unexpected example of success from the "Make In India" campaign, launched in 2014 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to create export-focused businesses in areas such as auto parts, electronics and biotechnology.

The initiative helped India surpass China as the world’s top destination for foreign direct investment. But most global manufacturers entered India primarily to tap the huge domestic market rather than create an export hub. Handmade products account for about $3 billion in exports and provide 7 million jobs, according to the India Brand Equity Foundation.

“We have the best people in our country,” Mahajan said. “If we market the items well, we can take over any market in the world.”