India's stock markets have shrugged off one of the worst terrorist attacks in the country's history. And from all indications, it's business as usual for the many foreign investors that have poured billions of dollars into India [ Images ] and its markets in the past few years.

IBM -- the largest multinational corporation in India, which is now Big Blue's second largest base after the U.S. -- is no exception. Despite Tuesday's terrorist attacks in Mumbai [ Images ] that killed about 200 people and injured hundreds more, the company is committed to its India investments.

In the months leading up to Big Blue's latest $6 billion investment in India, Val Rahmani, one of the company's top executives, spent days on end there trying to understand the market and implement strategies to shore up operations. Based in New York City, Rahmani is general manager for infrastructure management services at IBM Global Technology Services.

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She is responsible for IBM's infrastructure services worldwide and oversaw the company's recent investments in India.

When she first visited Bangalore, Rahmani says, she was struck by the shiny new towers and sprawling corporate campuses built by the billions of dollars pouring into the country. "There seemed to be construction everywhere," she says.

All that new office space is being filled with a steady stream of workers. According to India's leading trade body, the National Association of Software and Services Companies, more than 1 million Indians were employed in tech and tech-enabled services in 2005. And each year, close to 3 million Indian students graduate from engineering colleges.

Rahmani, who joined IBM in London [ Images ] soon after graduating from Oxford University in 1980, has helped oversee the company's rapid global expansion during the past two and a half decades. The company's recently announced investments in India are in addition to the $2 billion IBM has invested there over the past three years.

The number of its employees in India has also increased to 43,000, from 23,000 in 2004. In fact, IBM's commitment dwarfs the combined $3.9 billion investment in India announced last year by Microsoft [ Images ], Intel and Cisco.

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Forbes.com spoke to Val Rahmani about her security concerns, her experiences dealing with India's power outages and traffic jams, virtual management and IBM's future in the country.

Given the recent blasts and India's history of terrorist attacks, does IBM have any concerns about security?

Last month, IBM announced an investment of $6 billion in India. That commitment indicates the strategic role of India in IBM's overall operations. It remains unchanged.

IBM has a policy of not commenting on security aspects related to the corporation.

Six billion dollars is a lot of money. What will you be spending it on?

We're going to be building on what we're already doing, putting more into our global delivery centers [computing hubs that run applications and tech support services for IBM's clients--the company has around 450 across the globe] and increasing investments in our key research labs. I don't know how many people we're planning to invest in, but I know we're investing in more, and across all areas.

We'll also be investing in the local economy, because India has been a great market for us in terms of profits.

You're based in New York. How do you manage large investments in India and other countries while living here?

Our role at IBM is to spend a lot of time in the countries to understand the market requirements and skills and capabilities there. We have very strong leaders [throughout India] and depend very heavily on those local people.

No matter how long I spend in India, I probably won't know as much as someone who grew up there.

How much time do you think is necessary to spend in-country? Can you really manage a $6 billion investment virtually?

It is not so much about time as it is about building relationships and trust. IBM has a fantastic team in India that understands the market and clients very well. Because of technology and the ease of information sharing, it is increasingly possible to work very efficiently with people in different countries.

The time difference between India and New York actually works well, because they are finishing their work day while I am starting mine, so it is easy to provide updates in real time.

Doing business in India is getting easier, but there are still challenges, particularly pertaining to infrastructure. How do you deal with brownouts, traffic jams and all the daily hassles?

Before I first visited India, one of my colleagues told me, "When you get there, on the first day all you will see is the challenges, and after those 24 hours, you won't see them any more." That's true.

Would we love that everything worked better? Yes. We'd love that in every city we operate in. Does that stop us from doing anything? No. To deal with the traffic jams, you just have to allot more time to get to any place. And if the power shuts off in the middle of something, there are always generators that restore operations immediately.

What I did find was that the people there were very helpful, supportive and energized about what they were doing. For instance, there were young staff members in India who worked on running delivery processes, and when I spoke with them, they had ideas about other processes as well.

They were thinking about the process from end to end, and how they could make it better and easier for others. The thirst for knowledge outside of their own job areas is immense. They look at the bigger picture to try and add value to what they are doing.

Employees in India are very excited to be a part of global IBM. Many of these guys are pretty new to the company, so pulling them all together is challenging.

IBM CEO Sam Palmisano recently said the average age of IBM's India employees is 24. What are the implications for IBM about having a workforce that's so young? Are Indian workers eligible for the same benefits as their American colleagues?

The young employees have seen growth, and they are eager to be a part of it. They think that anything is possible, and they are ready to make things happen. IBM seeks to be competitive in its employee benefits in all countries in which it operates.

Has there been a change in the sort of jobs that are going to India?

There are two ways you can treat a country like India. You can create solutions, and then tell people there, "Your job is to be very highly skilled and very good at implementing them." [But] we've said there's no reason on God's earth why the teams in India can't do the design and creation that others can. And the jobs there are a reflection of this.

One of the things we focused on in India this year was the global business solutions center. Our teams there are building those solutions and implementing them; we're doing the same thing in the infrastructure sector through server consolidation.

We're not taking jobs from the U.S. and shifting them to India. Over the years, we've tended to spread out what we do in different parts of the world, and we've decided to spend our R&D globally.

We are investing heavily in China, and have been for many areas. We have growing investments in Brazil [ Images ] and the Czech Republic. We will continue to make such investments and keep looking for new areas; it's a portfolio management exercise.

There aren't too many women in your position in the corporate world. What's the experience been like?

It's been fantastic. I have had nothing but support all the way through. The only times it was difficult was when I started out in London and I had to deal with government representatives who were 50 years old or more and couldn't really trust a 20-something female.

I learned that you couldn't just walk in and be credible; you would only be credible if you had something to say or something to offer.

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