Changing landscape of India

In 1995, after few years of dramatic economic policy turn in India, initiated under Dr. Manmohan Singh as then Finance Minister, that Aditya Chopra’s ‘Dilwale Dulhiniya Legayange’ (the big hearted will take the bride) was released with the hero as Shahrukh Khan (SK) and heroine as Kajol.

The romantic hit makes it a point to preserve the accepted Indian values where the hero (SK) refuses to accept the proposition of his heroin to elope with her. The hero insists on getting the blessing of her parents without taking that socially unacceptable move.

Thirteen years later, in 2008 Chopra’s film ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’ (a match made by god), which was the fourth highest grossing film in India till 2008, ironically, the same hero Raj (SK) asks his heroine Tanani to run away with him, if she is not satisfied with her ‘married’ life!

In 2011, Poonam Pandey, one of the Kingfisher Calendar girls for the year 2011, gave a nude image for a magazine. She first came in the limelight when she vowed to strip off her clothes if India lifted the World Cup trophy. She follows in the footsteps of Paraguay’s Larissa Riquelme and Argentinian Luciana Salazar who promised to strip if their football teams won the FIFA World Cup.

Despit ebeing a bit late, she did pose nude moments after the showdown of the Indian Premier League season-5, where Royal Challenge Bangalore was defeated in T20!

The above three scenarios aptly described the changing landscape of modern India, in the aftermath of initiating its economic reforms in 1991. Today, Indian society is experiencing real life situations, where people take dramatic and independent decisions in pursuit of personal happiness while challenging the status quo.  

The growing young Indian society (about 700 m between the ages of 15 to 60) sees no barriers in pursuing their goals to be happy and be recognised by others. Once a society who believed that actresses such as Madubala, Sharmila Tagore and Vayjanthimala got prettier faces due to karmic implications, tend to believe that karmic fate can be changed.

The changing of karmic fate proved even possible within the Indian society by way of experiencing of rising of modern stars such as Dipika Padukon, Freida Pinto, Vidya Balan, etc., who are not technically considered as flamboyant, but ordinary looking girls who successfully challenged and changed their fates. This changing landscape of India, which is primarily fuelled by the young and affordable generation, has created enormous consumer market and wealthy pockets to be exploited by companies all around the world.

Indian growth story, which was begun at the early 2000s, has created wealthy middle class and greater social mobility within India. It is estimated that India would be one of the biggest spending markets in the 21st century. There is no wonder rest of the world try with their best cards to grab a piece of that prosperity.

In India, middle segment of the market keeps on swelling and upgrading their lives and life styles. Reasons that contribute this trend are the overall increase in income due to rapid economic development and also the products and services formally at inaccessible price point for middle class are now become accessible.

For an example, today, in India, it is possible to buy a car like Tata NANO for a price of $ 2,000, which is more accessible price point for Indian consumers. Nonetheless, manufactures themselves have lowered their price for older technology products against their new technology products making way for better consumption for Indian middle class consumers.

Figure 1 shows how Indian consumption market has been changed from pyramid to potbellied due to this swelling middle class and creating a new entry level with the economic development. As per figure 1 (not for scale), in India, there is huge new entry level is being formed in the consumer market apart from the so called middle segment, where companies are increasingly tapping. Sri Lanka too has a fairly skewed trade with India. In 2011, trade balance has touched almost $ 4 b in favour of India. Partly, this has to be accepted due to the asymmetries of the two economies and the competitive behaviour of market forces in demanding and supplying of products in the international markets.

For example, Sri Lankan suppliers tend to supply their garments to Europe and the US, because still a demand with a premium prevails in these markets. On the contrary, Sri Lankan demand has shifted their attention from markets like Japan to India to source cars at a competitive price. It is no wonder we enjoy positive balance with the US and Europe while large negative balance with India.

Having all these said, considering the changing landscape of today’s India, Sri Lankan companies may have to rethink their strategy on the Indian market for the sake of long-term prosperity. Sri Lanka, being one of the best strategically located trading partners for India and a country which is blessed among few other selected Indian trading partners with an instrument such as FTA, making a launching pad today in India would be a leap in five to 10 years’ time.

(The writer holds a B.Sc Degree with a Second Class (Upper Division) from the University of Sri Jayawaradanapura, and has completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Economic Development at the University of Colombo. He can be reached via [email protected].)