Breakthrough deal in education relations of India and Australia.
The Melbourne Business School at the University of Melbourne has announced a partnership with India’s top business school – the Indian School of Business (ISB).
Now, this partnership will give MBA students a truly global perspective of emerging business trends.
As part of the collaboration between the two schools, Executive MBA and Senior Executive MBA cohorts from Melbourne Business School will undertake immersion modules at ISB’s Hyderabad campus (pictured).
This is a brilliant deal and will contribute to the India-capability of Australian executives.
Art in both traditional and contemporary form is alive and thriving in India, judging by a beautiful exhibition at the Melbourne Museum.
Sutr Santati curated by Lavina Baldota of the Abheraj Baldota Foundation is worth seeing for the quality and innovation of the objects, which is matched by the display which adds to the beauty.
I was enthralled – but when I saw the great Mahatma Gandhi featured in one of the pieces, I just stopped and admired the way this exhibition pays homage to the history of free India and yet celebrates modern innovation.
It made me realise that it is only a little over 75 years when India had some of the finest FREEDOM FIGHTERS in the history of human struggle to be free.
Make sure you see this soon!
Celebrating 75 years of India’s independence, Sutr Santati showcases 75 hand-woven textiles created by contemporary Indian designers.
In May 2023, Melbourne Museum welcomes international exhibition Sutr Santati: Then. Now. Next. Stories of India woven in thread. Conceived and curated by Lavina Baldota of the Abheraj Baldota Foundation, the exhibition brings together diverse textile traditions of the country, conceived and created by some of its most prominent artisans, craftspeople and designers.
Sutr Santati means ‘continuity of thread’ in Hindi. As the exhibition title, it is a metaphor for ongoing dialogues in Indian culture and society, which shape its evolution, bridging the past with the future. The exhibition’s curatorial vision seeks to promote the ideals of organic and slow consumerism in reflecting India’s identity and the inherent collective, collaborative efforts which are required to push towards such goals.
The themes, techniques and materials of specially commissioned fabrics in the exhibition are viewed through the lens of innovation. In doing so, they reinforce the value of fabric – an important legacy of Indian independence – to define the country’s contemporary artistic landscape, and to push its creativity into the future.
Heartiest congratulations to Lynley Crosswell, CEO, Museums Victoria, and Rohini Kappadath, General Manager, Immigration Museum – you have given us a special opportunity to gain insights into India.
Only 8% of Indian households own a car – so big growth is ahead
INTO INDIA has consistently said India is the growth story of this century.
Now Anish Mathew, CEO and CIO of the very successful Sundaram Asset Management Singapore Pte Ltd, has found a unique way to describe why India is indeed THE growth story.
6 big changes in India
The number of income tax filers has increased by 57.5% between FY15 and FY21. This is obviously the impact of the growing use of Aadhar (biometric unique identity card) as the preferred KYC document and the implementation of GST, both of which is pushing up the tax compliance in the country.
Indirect (GST) tax base stood at 14mn in November 2022, a 2.3x increase from mid 2017.
Number of PAN cards (unique tax identity number issued by the Income Tax Department) allotted has increased by 2.5x in the last 7 years.
80% of the railway tracks were electrified as of end FY22 as compared to 31% in FY11.
Road infrastructure measured in number of kilometres has increased by 36.6% in the last 11 years.
Major port capacity has nearly doubled in the last 8 years.
5 reasons growth will boom
Only 8% of the households owned a car, 24% an air conditioner and 38% a refrigerator.
Only 1% of Indians account for 45% of all flights.
Only 3% of Indians make up all unique card holders.
Only 2.6% of Indians invest in mutual funds.
The Indian diaspora remitted USD 100bn into the country in 2022, eclipsing the gross FDI flow during the same period.
Mathew advises that the three big growth drivers for the next decade are consumption (driven by the Demographic Dividend and rising incomes); manufacturing, and; digitisation (which is the formalisation of the Indian economy)
He makes a powerful case for investment and trade with India.
Indian-Australian MP Daniel Mookhey takes oath on the Bhagavad Gita
As the UN releases data that India has become the most populous nation on the planet, our Indian diaspora in Australia also continues to grow in size and influence.
The recent NSW state election saw Indian-Australian MP Daniel Mookhey elevated to Treasurer, the first MP in Australia to take the oath on the Bhagavad Gita.
Pru Car, also of Indian origin, became Deputy Premier of NSW and Charishma Kaliyanda became the first Indian born Australian to be elected to the NSW Parliament’s Legislative Assembly.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that India has become the leading source country for permanent migrants, overtaking China and the United Kingdom. The latest ABS figures reveal one in five skilled migrants were born in India (20%), highlighting the strong presence of Indian skilled workers in Australia’s workforce.
And India is now second in the top five countries of origin for international students in Australia in 2022 – China (155,348 students), followed by India (99,739), Nepal (56,847) Vietnam (22,396), and Colombia (21,836). These students accounted for 58 percent of all international students in the country, Erudera.com reports.
The India-story in Australia continues to write new and better chapters.
(Special thanks to The Hon Lisa Singh, CEO, Australia India Institute, for most of the above data)
“India much more straight-forward long term story than China” – Christopher Wood, Equities Analyst, Jefferies
For business and investment, India is now a more straightforward, long-term option than China.
But it is really smart to think BOTH India and China, not one or the other.
The equity strategists are saying it. All the trade commentators are saying get your product or service into India – now.
One equity analyst, Christopher Wood, the global head of equity strategy at Jefferies, said in the latest edition of his immensely popular newsletter to investors called ‘GREED & fear’: “India remains a much more straightforward long-term story than China, which is why GREED & fear has 39 percent of the Asia ex-Japan long-only portfolio, long-term in its focus invested in India and “only” 25 percent in China.”
INTO INDIA points to the incredibly high number of young Indians coming through – called the demographic dividend” – as the big reason to be there.
Time to begin or upgrade with an Indian investment and market entry strategy?
Walking this week along Swanston Street past the Victoria Library and the feeling was like pre-covid. The international students are back in Melbourne.
It was the same up and around Melbourne University, then in Glenferrie Road near Swinburne and education locations across our city.
International students add so much to the life of Melbourne.
And it seems Melbourne works hard to ensure these visiting students have a good welcome into our city – as this article explains…
INTO INDIA was super pleased to see that Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Penny Wong, has appointed Ms Swati Dave as the inaugural Chair of the Advisory Board to the Centre for Australia-India Relations (CAIR).
By all talks, the CAIR is going to be the new epicentre of Australia’s broad relationship with India.
It can take things to a new level. Much needed.
CAIR will open some time this year and will serve as a national platform to further strengthen our relationship with India.
Why is this such a strong appointment?
Ms Dave is currently Deputy Chair of the Asia Society Australia and as a member of the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations’ Advisory Board. She is also an Investment Committee member for QIC Global Infrastructure. Ms Dave has more than 30 years’ of experience in finance and banking across a range of sectors in both domestic and international markets.
She is the right person to guide the relationship to a higher level.
We need much more guidance on business relations, cross-cultural understanding and a broader cultural engagement with India. INTO INDIA has long called for more Australian investment in India -investment is a powerful basis for future trade.
CAIR will apparently work closely with the Australia India Council (AIC) and the Australia India Institute (AII).
Australia and India – stepping up with CAIR to a new, stronger relationship.
During 2022, Austrade stepped up the promotion of Australia as an education destination for young Indians – and has just completed a highly successful month of activity over there.
The India campaign has included:
The Study Australia Showcase in India ran 12-22 September 2022, with an accompanying campaign delivering 69.2 million impressions and attracting 3,420 event registrations. PR activity delivered 275 media articles with a readership of 13 million. The event covered six cities, and involved 26 Australian institutions, Australian Government and all state and territory Study Australia Partnership (SAP) members. Nearly 95% of attendees were satisfied or highly satisfied.
The Study Australia Entrepreneurship Challenge engaged 18 Indian institutions, 36 student teams and 36 academic and industry mentors across four Challenge themes: creative industries, cybersecurity, digital health, circular economy.
Shine with Australia: Discover your Brilliant Future Self (Phase III) ran in-market in India between 19 Sept – 17 Oct, resulting in a 122% increase in leads generated via the Study Australia website Course Search tool over the four-week period prior.
The Department of Education has released year-to-date (YTD) September 2022 international student data. There were 569,204 international students on student visas for September 2022, 1% more than January-September 2021. The top 5 countries account for 59% of international students: China (26%), India (16%), Nepal (9%), Vietnam (4%) and Colombia (3%).
There were 669,958 enrolments between January-September 2022, composed of 52% higher education (346,451), 36% VET (241,203), 8% ELICOS (52,650), 3% non-award (18,516) and 2% schools (11,138). Compared to the January-September 2021 period, enrolments were up for ELICOS (45%) and non-award (46%) but down for higher education (-4%), VET (-7%), and schools (-14%).
As this year comes to a close, INTO INDIA reflects on the game changer – the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement.
It surprised us all. Many did not expect it to be signed. Nobody expected it to be so vast in potential impact.
ECTA will save Australian exporters around $2 billion a year in tariffs, while consumers and business will save around $500 million in tariffs on imports of finished goods, and inputs to our manufacturing sector.
The tariff commitments provided by India in the agreement will open up access for Australia’s exporters of products including critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, lentils, seafood, sheepmeat, horticulture and wine.
Australian service suppliers will benefit from full or partial access across more than 85 Indian services sectors and subsectors. Australian suppliers across 31 sectors and subsectors will be guaranteed the highest standard of treatment that India grants to any future free trade agreement partner.
Australian services sectors to benefit include higher education and adult education, as well as business services such as tax, architecture and urban planning.
ECTA will support tourism and workforce needs in regional Australia by making 1000 Work and Holiday Program places available to young adventurous Indians. It maintains opportunities for Indian students graduating in Australia to undertake post-study work, with a bonus year of stay for high-performing STEM graduates.
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.
Into India 