January 2023 – Into India

More of Modi to come? This year’s state elections will tell a tale

PM Narendra Modi – India’s most international leader

Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India is one of the globe’s outstanding and well recognised leaders.

No coincidence, given he is probably the most outward looking of India’s PM’s and is pushing hard for his vision of a modern and connected India.

India’s Presidency of the G20 this year will greatly add to Modi’s credentials.

But what will the year ahead show us? “More Modi” is the probable answer.

In India ten states and territories are due to hold elections this year in what will tell us more about how Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dominant Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national government will fare in elections likely in 2024.

The BJP is in full or coalition government in five of these regional governments which will hold elections throughout the year starting in February.

The BJP runs 11 states in total and five more in coalition governments.

So how about the Congress Party? The once dominant Congress Party only runs three states and three more in coalitions.

Other parties run eight states suggesting one possible disturbing long term outcome – some untidy form of cooperation between the Congress and others.

This year will tell us a lot and most think the BJP grip will continue.

Watch this space!

Australian Vintage Ltd needs to rethink India strategy – it is not “just like China”

Craig Garvin, CEO, Australian Vintage, is right to enter the India market but needs to find the right way

The company behind McGuigan, Tempus Two and Nepenethe wines has set its sights set on affluent Indian consumers – but it might need to take a second look.

Australian Vintage Limited chief executive Craig Garvin believes the world’s second-most populous country, is “just like China”.

Yes, he is right that there are a million millionaires in Delhi and Mumbai – but does that equate to your market? These are the established wealthy, mainly male, and many are set in their ways.

Is a better market for Australian wines the young emerging wealthy of the future?

India is not “like China” – the Chinese population is much older and India has the youngest population on earth. Millennials and Gen Z are said to amount to around 750 million of India’s population. Known in India as the “demographic dividend”, this young population is the key to market entry for products like wine.

Already we know that sales of red wine are up in major urban centres, driven by demand from young women, educated and in the ranks of professionals and executives.

What distinguishes India for “premium” consumer products is that the market is young, it is emerging, it is a generation that instead of being “born someone” want to “become someone” and females are leading much of the consumer preferences of this young group. That is, it is ripe for change.

There is probably no other market like it in the world.

Other than its four main wine brands McGuigan, Tempus Two, Nepenethe and Barossa Valley Wine Company, Australian Vintage Limited also produces ready-made cocktail mixes under its Mr Stubbs brand, a range of gins under its Tempus Two brand, and a juice concentrate called Austflavour.

Australian Vintage is a strong company with some fabulous brands which will be just right for India – so long as the thinking and strategy is right.

INTO INDIA wishes them every success.

2023 the year to engage with India as change speeds up in all sectors

Welcome to 2023 from INTO INDIA.

This has to be the year to engage more with India, be there more, make connections, launch products and services, expand into new areas and more.

Just one example stood out for me over the break – EV sales.

Electric Vehicle sales have become a symbol of how fast India is changing.

Delhi has recorded the nation’s largest electric vehicle (EV) sales in the country among all the states/Union Territories. A total of 7,046 EVs were registered in Delhi in December 2022, witnessing an annual growth of 86%.

Since the launch of the EV policy Delhi had recorded registration of a total of 93,329 electric vehicles out of which, two-wheelers contributed nearly 55% of the total EV sales in 2022. The December 2022 sales of EVs have resulted Delhi reaching one step closer to its mission of achieving two-thirds of its targets which can be attributed to the “i3” model of Incentivisation, Innovation and Inclusion.

The Transport Minister of India, Mr. Kailash Gahlot stated Delhi to be the country’s EV capital with 2,300+ charging stations and 200+ batteries swapping stations in operation across the city.

On August 7, 2020, EV policy was launched in Delhi by prioritising two-wheelers and three-wheelers segments, with an aim of rapid adoption of electric vehicles contributing to 25% of all new vehicle registrations by 2024.

A campaign launched by the Chief Minister of Delhi, Mr. Arvind Kejriwal, “Switch Delhi” focuses on spreading awareness about the benefits of such vehicles in making Delhi clean and pollution free. The government is spending more than US$ 183 million (Rs. 1,500 crores) on the electrification of 56 depots for housing more than 10,000 buses by 2025.

Delhi registers highest monthly electric vehicle sales in December across states