Needed : an Indian Marketing Association

India has associations, professional bodies and certifications for almost all major professions viz. chartered accountants,engineers,computer professionals, doctors, architects,lawyers, financial analysts and the like. Even managers have Bombay Management Association, Delhi Management Association and the like. Then there are bodies for professionals from HR,Finance,Audit,Systems and such like.

However,there is no professional body for marketers.There are bodies for advertising people, for media people, for market researchers and even for direct marketers but none for marketing people themselves.

In contrast, overseas there is the American Marketing Association and in U.K. there are the Chartered Institute of Marketers and the Marketing Society. These bodies carry out a gamut of functions.

Marketing needs to have its own body if marketers are to be seen as professionals. My feeling is today this discipline in India does not have the professional tag.