Author: Stephen Manallack

Former President, Australia India Business Council, Victoria and Author, You Can Communicate; Riding the Elephant; Soft Skills for a Flat World (published by Tata McGraw-Hill INDIA); Communicating Your Personal Brand. Director, EastWest Academy Pty Ltd and Trainer/Speaker/Mentor in Leadership, Communication and Cross Cultural Communication. Passionate campaigner for closer western relations with India. Stephen Manallack is a specialist on “Doing Business with India” and advisor/trainer on “Cross-Cultural Understanding”. He is a Director of EastWest Academy Pty Ltd which provides strategic advice and counsel regarding business relations with India. A regular speaker in India on leadership and global communication, his most recent speaking tour included a speech to students of the elite Indian university, Amity University, in Noida. He also spoke at a major Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) global summit, the PR Consultants Association of India in Delhi, the Symbiosis University in Pune and Cross-Cultural Training for Sundaram Business Services in Chennai. He has visited India on business missions on 10 occasions and led three major trade missions there. He provides cross-cultural training – Asia and the west.

India’s YOUTH BOOM will reshape the world

These are the priorities of Indian Gen Z and Millennials.

Most of the world’s young people live in India.

And India next month becomes the most populous nation on earth, passing China.

India’s YOUTH BOOM looks like this:

440 million Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996)

375 million Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012)

There are two things we need to know about these generations.

First, they are hard working and earning better than their elders. A high percentage of them have a second job.

Second, they are big spenders, so their capacity to shape and influence us all is enormous.

So, getting your product or service into India right now would make great business sense.

And countries, like Australia, are busy building closer political and strategic ties with India. Makes sense – it will be the economic (and therefore cultural etc) driver of the future.

Time for Australian business and education to find a way to increase trade with India

Dr Ashok Sharma has written about the increasingly close relations of India and Australia – for example, we are now the number 2 education market behind the USA and just ahead of the UK. Dr Sharma pointed to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the New Education Policy which should “bring the current education partnership to the next level”.

Indian Foreign Minister’s Visit to Australia Strengthens Strategic Convergence, Trust, and Continuity in the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

But what about other areas of trade?

We know that the increasing activity in education has many spin offs – increased tourism, professional exchanges and more.

Education might be the “trade flagship” that drags other industries into the trade mix.

But we cannot be sure.

It is time for a new national conversation about Australia-India trade, with a close examination on what blockages might exist and what steps would increase two-way trade.

India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar (pictured with Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles) came to Australia in October for the annual Foreign Ministers’ Framework Dialogue – where these matters were discussed.

The two foreign ministers discussed “accelerating and deepening economic ties, including through our Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement.”

Sounds good.

But what is next?

Can the Australian Trade Minister, the Hon Don Farrell, bring business and education at all levels together in a national dialogue?

Remember – India is not just the second most populous nation on earth, it is also the YOUNGEST – which makes it the global growth centre. We cannot afford to miss this opportunity.

We have to find a way.

Space, satellites and security – now India and Australia collaborating

AICC’s Mahadevan Shankar (right) with SatCom President Dr Subba Rao Pavaluri in presence of Minister The Hon Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar

India is a major centre for all aspects of satellites – the rockets are flying, the satellites launching and this is becoming a big industry.

There’s some good news in this for Australia. The Australia India Chamber of Commerce has driven this good news.

Thanks to the efforts of AICC’s Mahadevan Shankar, Convenor, Defence and Security National Industry Group – we now have super good news out of India – an MOU has been signed yesterday between the AICC and the SatCom Industry Association, India.

The signing was in the presence of Hon Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, Skill Development, Electronics & Information Technology. Pictured with the documents in front of the Minister are (left) the President of SatCom Industry Association Dr. Subba Rao Pavaluri and AICC’s Mahadevan Shankar, Convenor, Defence and Security National Industry Group.

This bilateral partnership will lead to growing collaborations – and opportunities for Australian companies to engage directly with this growth sector of India.

SatCom Industry Association represents satellite operators, satellite systems, launch vehicles, ground and terminal equipment manufacturers and suppliers, satellite-based IOT/M2M solution providers, space startups, innovation hubs, academic institutions, law firms and provides interface with Government, Regulators, Policymakers and domestic & international standards’ bodies.

It has been a dynamic year for the AICC.

Members of AICC have been contributing extensively in this area past year, which has significantly motivated the progress of this bilateral 🇦🇺🇮🇳 partnership towards growing collaborations into the future.

Mahadevan Shankar says: “Sky is the limit and truly the exponential growth in space sector globally, and in particular in India, has opened up significant opportunities for Australian companies to engage directly and share in the rapid growth!”

“Big opportunities for next generation leaders, innovators & entrepreneurs to enter civilian and military use satellites and participate in the booming digital economies of future!” he said.

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6991554366621061120

DEAKIN UNIVERSITY HUBS – the new way in India

Deakin University set to lead in new education era for India – at JGU are Professor Iain Martin, VC, Deakin, and Ravneet Pahwa, VP and CEO South Asia

These “HUBS” are a great innovation by Deakin University – giving it a great advantage in the Indian era of the New Education Policy.

Deakin Vice-Chancellor Professor Iain Martin visiting New Delhi, India, announcing the launch of partner-institutions so that students can commence the first part of their studies in their home country.

“I am excited to be back in India and it couldn’t have been for a better occasion than the launch of the DEAKIN UNIVERSITY HUBS at OP Jindal Global University, Symbiosis International University and Chitkara University,” said Professor Martin.

Here is why this is a big idea!

Indian students can now commence the first part of their studies with a Deakin partner institution in India and then transfer to a Deakin campus in Australia for the second part of their educational journey.

But that’s just the early stage of the HUBS.

“These hubs will provide valuable opportunities for growth, student mobility and joint research. They will promote enhanced collaboration between Indian institutes and Deakin, leading to academic and research excellence that will be highly beneficial for both countries,” said Professor Martin.

It gets better!

Deakin has established similar hubs with corporates – Infosys, TCS and more.

Deakin was the first international university to establish its presence in India in 1994.

CONGRATULATIONS to Ravneet Pawha, Vice-President (Global Alliances) and CEO (South Asia) at Deakin and the whole Deakin team in India.

Deakin is a role model in how to do business in India:

Establish a presence for the long haul
Be visible in India
Develop relationships over time
As India further liberalises, build stronger engagement
Use Indians to head up your presence in India
Ensure your leadership (V-C) is a regular visitor to India

6 tips for doing business with India

You have to establish a presence to do well in India

Be There

Fly in Fly Out does not work long term in India – naturally, Indians like to see that you are serious and that means having a local presence. Does not have to be big, but it has to be local.

Be Indian

As soon as you can, find a local Indian leader or team that can do two things – work with you plus take you into the Indian market.

Blend with Indian culture

We all love our “corporate culture”, but you might need to bend a little, blend a little to produce something right for India.

“Indianise” your product or service

Innovate, repackage, find new markets for what you do, accept technical innovations from within India – “Indianise”.

Be a Presence

Participate in local chambers and industry groups – the collective is so much more important in India and you need to find a way to “be a presence”.

Get support in India

Australia has some of the best people ready to help you – State Government Business Offices, Austrade – start talking to them early and keep the links going. They can be your best resource.

India and China – a simple comparison

The Indian economy is expected to grow by 7.3% in the current fiscal year, which ends in March.

China is expected to grow by 2%.

Population of China is 1.4 billion (approx), ageing and declining.

Population of India is 1.4 billion (approx), young and growing.

Indian economy is driven by supplying local demand as the youthful population and middle class growth increase demand.

Chinese economic growth has largely been driven by making and exporting.

India as a domestic demand-driven economy – is less sensitive to global downturns.

China is an export driven economy – highly sensitive to global downturns.

And we have not even got onto world’s largest democracy, innovative driven, attracting and welcoming western investment and more…

Compare the two – what do you think?

Read the best short summary of why India is the bright spot economically

This is one of the best summaries of why India should be on your business and trade radar.

My good friend Hareesh Tibrewala provides the great summary – he is the Author of ‘If I Had To Do It Again’, a Social Media Strategist and Internet Entrepreneur – currently Joint CEO of Mirum India.

“Right now the Indian economy seems like the brightest spot among all large economies.

“One one hand, the whole of Europe is suffering the brunt of the Ukraine war. And irrespective of sanctions against Russia, and who is winning or losing the war, the brunt is actually being faced by Europe in form of inflation and energy issues.

“On the other hand, the US seems to be struggling to come out of Covid. There are just no people anywhere to fill in the job vacancies. Every shop or outlet has “Hiring” signs in their window. And salary levels, even for minimum wage kind of jobs seems to have increased dramatically.

“And finally China, who was powering the world economy for the past few decades seems to be floundering thanks to zero-covid policy and an unprecendented drought.

“Overall the APAC region, and specifically India, seem to be comparatively doing much better and seem stable.”

Thanks Hareesh – well said!

India agricultural, processed food products exports up 30% to US$ 9.6 billion in April-July

INTO INDIA has written regularly on agribusiness growth in India – and the opportunities this presents. The story is gathering pace…

India’s exports of processed food and agricultural products increased by 30% to US$ 9.6 billion from April-July of this fiscal year. Fruit and vegetable exports increased by 4% during the time period, according to data from the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S).

According to a statement released by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, an export goal of US$ 23.56 billion has been set for the basket of agricultural and processed food goods for 2022–2023.

The first four months of the current fiscal saw a growth of 61.91% in the export of dairy products, reaching US$ 247 million. Basmati rice exports climbed by 29.13%, rising from US$ 1.21 billion in April–July 2021 to US$ 1.56 billion in April–July 2022. Non-Basmati rice exports increased by 9.24% to US$ 2.08 billion in the same time period.

There is a lot happening in the agriculture sector in India – time for you to upgrade your India engagement strategy?

Putin, Xi and Modi likely meeting at the SCO starting today – is it a challenge to the QUAD?

India has always been skilled at dealing with both sides of diplomatic arguments – and it has an inclination towards “multilateral” and even “multi-bilateral” arrangements while western friends prefer “bilateral”.

So, it will be interesting to see what role Indian PM Modi will play at the 22nd leaders’ summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, to be held on 15–16 September – the first in-person gathering of the central Asian grouping since 2019.

While it might not make page one news, politicians and diplomats around the world will be closely watching this summit to be held in the ancient Uzbek Silk Road city Samarkand. Not only is it providing Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin their first face-to-face meeting since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and declaration last year of a “forever partnership” – but it also comes after an interval where Indian PM Modi became closer and more impactful at the QUAD.

The members of SCO are China, India, Tajikistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan. Four Observer States were involved in granting full membership (Belarus, Iran, Afghanistan, and Mongolia) and six “Dialogue Partners” (Nepal, Armenia, Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, and Turkey).

The QUAD nations are India, USA, Japan and Australia.

If he attends, Modi is expected to have meetings with Putin and Xi, giving a further glimpse as to how India is likely to map out its relationship with Eurasia’s great powers.

Modi has previously stood up to pressure from QUAD countries to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine, so as a leader he has a track record of combining non-confrontation with firm commitment to his own position.

Indian consumers are optimistic, even during Covid – McKinsey

A McKinsey survey has found that nearly three-quarters of India’s consumers are optimistic about economic recovery, and net intent to spend is growing and positive across many categories.

Omnichannel usage continues across the majority of categories.

Social-media influence is high, especially for Gen Z and millennials. More than 90 percent are engaging in social media and entertainment platforms.

There is an upward trend for new technology, such as crypto and augmented reality/virtual reality, and consumers intend to continue digital activities as the COVID-19 crisis subsides.

About 40 percent of consumers are engaging in out-of-home activities, especially among the vaccinated segment.

Most consumers have tried new shopping behaviours’ such as new retail outlets and new brands.

https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/survey-indian-consumer-sentiment-during-the-coronavirus-crisis