C.K. Prahalad, is the author of a number of well known works in corporate strategy including The Core Competence of the Corporation (Harvard Business Review, May-June, 1990).He was co-founder and became CEO of Praja Inc. Prahalad has been a top ten management thinker in every major survey for over ten years. Business Week said of him, "a brilliant teacher at the University of Michigan, he may well be the most influential thinker on business strategy today." He is a member of the blue ribbon commission of the United Nations on Private Sector and Development. He is the first recipient of the Lal Bahadur Shastri Award for contributions to Management and Public Administration, presented by the President of India in 2000.

NDTV: How do you see marketing in India changing to the market reality of having to cater to the poor as consumers?

C K Prahalad: If you look at the reality of India today the distinction between the rich and the poor, urban and rural is becoming very tenuous. We used to have very distinct marketing programmes, but if you look at the cellphone and the FMCG market the same products are available for the urban and rural market and we are now starting to straddle the pyramid- the rich and poor get the same quality- it may be in a different package, it may be at a different price point, but it is essentially the same product- whether it is Sunsilk or whether it is a cell-phone. So one of the things quite interesting for us to think about is how do we make markets and products and services, that do not make the traditional distinctions, but focus on business model creation where we can create a new sense of affordability for all people. And that is a big big change in the way we look at people.

NDTV: Do you see that happening in the last 2 to 3 years?

C K Prahalad: It is happening right in front of us. If we look at the cell phone it has created entrepreneurs who sell sim cards and we have seen pre-paid cards to make it affordable for everybody- so this is happening a lot, right in front of our eyes. And the same thing is happening if you look at affordable insurance for the poor- it is just happening but it is starting to proliferate. So I think the same thing will happen across the board.

NDTV: How is corporate strategy changing?

C K Prahalad: It is an integral part of corporate strategy- today I do not think corporations in India can say- oh I am at the top of the pyramid, I do not have to worry about the poor. In other words you have to look at one seamless opportunity and think about straddling the pyramid.