Youth – Page 13 – Into India

Indian PM Modi announces A$400 billion stimulus policy

Indian prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a A$400 billion stimulus package, one of the biggest in the world’s responses to Covid19.

The package is approximately 10% of India’s GDP.

The stimulus package is called “Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan” and aims to make India self reliant and to revive the stalled economy.

Details are still coming out but part of the program will be major reforms across areas such as land, labour and liquidity laws to underpin a boost to the “Make in India” campaign.

Other areas will likely include supply chain for agriculture, reforms to national taxation, simplification of some laws, build capable human resources and strengthening the financial system.

It is typical Modi – ambitious, unexpected in magnitude and investors are already reacting with enthusiasm.

The emerging symbol of change in India – watch out for Tonique

From the family coal mines to creating India’s largest and classiest liquor boutique, Anith Reddy (pictured below) and his new Tonique boutique liquor stores are a symbol of modern India with special attraction to middle class millennials.

Reddy has just opened his second store – Asia’s largest liquor boutique – in Bengaluru after earlier success in Hyderabad.

He has a store in Mumbai in mind but like the modern Indian entrepreneur, his ambitions are beyond India – he wants to open Tonique in New York.

At 30,000 sq. ft, spread over two floors, Tonique is certainly large. Unlike other liquor supermarkets in Bengaluru, like Madhuloka, Drops Total Spirits and House of Spirits, it is stylishly appointed, with hardwood floors, aroma oil diffusers and subtle mood lighting. “We want to be the Louis Vuitton of the liquor industry,” says Tonique’s founder, Hyderabad-based entrepreneur Anith Reddy.

Reddy, 43, (pictured below) believes buying liquor should be an experience – millennials value “experience” way above possessions and status, so he is on target.

In the store, buyers can interact with sommeliers and brewmasters. The store’s top floor, entirely dedicated to wine (1,000 different labels, including champagne), also houses a 600 sq. ft wine-tasting room that will host events, a bakery that will serve fresh liqueur chocolates and other delicacies, and a cheese section.

Bengaluru is a smart choice – the city’s social life and drinking habits set it apart from the rest of the cities in India. Bangalore has also been a favourite amongst many international brands.

And social behaviour is changing – now 60% of the visitors to Tonique are women, compared to an expectation of around 30%.

Apart from purchasing wine bottles to stock up your wine collection, you can also drink your wine in-store.

The consumer power of India’s millennials is just beginning to have impact and stores like Tonique are moving with this generation. There are 450 million millennials in India and those with money to spend are looking for that special brand. Tonique is showing the way!

Citrus Australia says Indian market needs at least 5 years of relationship building

Of course, Citrus Australia is encouraging growers to think about building relationships in the Indian market. We produce plenty of citrus and more to come.

But it was such a thrill to learn that their CEO, Nathan Hancock (pictured), believes at least a 5-10 year strategy is required.

INTO INDIA has been saying for years – India is for the long-term relationship builders and Citrus Australia is heading the right way.

He has told the industry they might need to accept a lower price just to build this relationship – and then there could be opportunities for price increase.

He rightly says India wants to buy “safe and healthy” food – and Australia has this reputation.

Citrus Australia has been looking at the potential for mandarins – I would too, and one target could be the millennials (age 21-37) who are more open to experimenting with foods.

Flipkart and the amazing growth of Indian startups

Year 2007 saw a landmark event in the history of Indian enterprise – one of many events that mean you should change your strategy for India market entry.

In October 2007, two young Amazon executives – Sachin and Binny Bansal (pictured above) set up an e-commerce website they called Flipkart, India’s most iconic startup story till date.

Flipkart was valued at US$ 21 billion when it was eventually acquired by Walmart in 2018.

The success of the Bansals also inspired many a startup journey in this period. Flipkart was obviously not an isolated event.

More top-notch professionals started sensing lucrative opportunities, leading by example and setting up their own ventures in the 1990’s. Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Founder & Executive Vice Chairman, Info Edge India Ltd (of Naukri.com fame), and VSS Mani, founder of Justdial, were some notable examples.

Deep Kalra, (pictured below) Founder, Chairman and Group CEO, MakeMyTrip.com, got acquainted with the potential of the internet as an avenue for distribution while working at GE Capital and decided to set up the popular travel portal.

The most significant game changer is the manner in which mobile phones and more specifically smartphones have penetrated the Indian market. The direct implication of this has been that a large majority of Indians have, or are about to access the internet for the first time on their mobile phones.

A report by Kantar-IMRB in March 2019 estimated India’s internet users at 566 million, projected to reach 627 million by the end of the year.

Around 97% of India’s netizens use mobile as one of the mediums.

This has created new avenues of growth and spurred startups like InMobi, Ola, Zomato, Practo, UrbanClap, BigBasket, Pepperfry and more.

These startups have been fueled by several other factors – increasing affinity towards entrepreneurship, potential of the Indian market, globalization and the resulting interface with other ecosystems (particularly Silicon Valley), rising confidence towards startup funding and facilitating policies.

According to the NASSCOMZinnov Startup Report 2019, the ecosystem added around 1,300 startups in 2019, taking the total to 8,900 tech startups.

India ranks third both in the number of startups and unicorns. The aggregation space has definitely been the beehive for startup innovation. The top ten unicorns of India as on date include 6 aggregators, two fintech firms and one edtech firm.

Investments by VCs have grown by four times during the period, and number of deals increased from 130 in 2013 to 270 in 2017.

India needs more stories like Delhivery (logistics), Vortex (solar ATMs) and Ather Energy (electric mobility).

A welcome trend is that of well-established corporates engaging with startups to bring greater innovative capabilities in their own DNA. This could be pivotal for India as it seeks to move ahead of the curve in areas like AI and machine learning.

Meantime China is part of this Indian story.

Chinese tech giants Alibaba and Tencent, early-stage investors Hillhouse Capital and CDH Investments, large corporations such as Meituan and Fosun, and smartphone makers Xiaomi and Oppo — a little over 100 Chinese firms have made investments in Indian startups.

Chinese VCs have invested over USD8 billion and hold large stakes in a number of Indian startups, including unicorns and “soonicorns”.

Watch this space…

Thanks to the Trade Promotion Council of India for information for this blog.

A great Indian Australian continues to give – Dr Rao and family

Well done Jana!

The Australia India Institute has just announced that the Australia India Social and Charitable Ventures Limited, through Mr T. Janardhana Rao OAM (pictured above and below) and his family, are providing a gift of at least $400,000 dollars over four years to the Australia India Institute.

The Aii said: “This extremely generous gift will support the Australia India Institute’s engagement activities with the University and business communities and also support students from India or of Indian heritage.”

Professor Craig Jeffrey, Director of the Aii, thanked Mr Rao and his family noting, “This important gift will greatly enhance the efforts of the Institute and University of Melbourne to develop the study of India and engage with the Indian diaspora. We are extremely grateful to Mr Rao and his family for their generosity and vision.”

For around 25 years Jana was both a surgeon and the Honorary Indian Consul in Victoria – a huge task.

He has been an inspiration to me for many years – pictured below:

Jana continues to be an example to us all – respectful, modest, a great listener, a principled man who could be very strong but never in an aggressive or divisive way, a man of quiet consensus and leading by example.

His son Harish Rao is a former National Chair of the Australia India Business Council, an advisor to the Australia India Institute, Director of the Australia World Orchestra and more – and my personal mentor on things India.

India wine harvest down this year – opportunity for Australia?

India’s wine grape harvest is well down this year. A spell of unseasonal rain in October and November has spoiled grapes sown in Sangli and Nashik – both are in the State of Maharashtra in the “cooler” areas near the Western Ghats mountain range.

Pictured above – Sula vineyards – dominant Indian wine brand

On average, the state of Maharashtra crushes 20,000 tonnes of grapes and produces 1.2 million litres of wine – this year, however, just 12,000 to 15,000 tonnes of grapes will be crushed, resulting in the production of 700,000 litres of wine.

I first heard about this from the Trade Promotion Council of India who produce terrific information about trade with India – well worth having a look at their website.

But the figures hide another reality – quality will be down.

Commenting on the issue, Mr. Rajesh Jadhav, secretary of All India Wine Production Association, said, “There will be a 25% reduction in wine production and due to poor quality of the fruit, it will be difficult to maintain quality.”

India’s millennials (there are 450 million of them) are drinking wine – not in quantity but definitely chasing quality.

The Australian wine industry has a presence in India but mostly at the lower end – cheaper or good value wines led by Jacobs Creek.

Time for Australian wines to pursue sales channels in India!

The 7 ways business and brand can thrive in Industry 4.0

The world is moving quickly into a new era known as Industrial Revolution 4.0 and business brands will have to adapt. This will be our biggest challenge “after coronavirus”.

We have already seen Tata Consulting Services (TCS) shake the world of work by announcing a target of 75% or its 450,000 workers operating from home or remotely by 2025. Others will have to follow.

The fourth industrial revolution sees at least ten major changes, each reinforcing the other so that how we do business and how we work will be totally transformed. The first three industrial revolutions were each about only one change – steam, electricity and computers.

Companies will need to be nimble and honest about the status of their brand – the immediate future can either build or destroy your brand credibility. Here are my 7 tips for thriving as a brand in Industry 4.0:

Show your company can continue to learn

Having a “we want to keep learning” brand is highly desirable for the market, clients and future employees. Audit your brand communication – does it show the organisation is curious, reading and listening widely, entering staff and customers into discussion groups and a genuine “learning organisation”.

SECOND – Demonstrate wisdom and common sense

Your clients look for more than knowledge from you – they want a brand that demonstrates common sense. The best way to describe the difference is through the humble tomato – knowledge tells you a tomato is a fruit (not a vegetable) – but common sense prevents you adding the tomato to a fruit salad. Making sure your senior people have mentors can help their levels of common sense.

THREE – Gain good collaboration and friendship skills

Industrial 4.0 will make collaboration easy and instant with anyone, anywhere and anytime – and the change will benefit those businesses that have the skills to reach out, make friends, work across the globe and build collaboration. It is worthwhile evaluating how much you are seen as a collaborative partner.

FOUR – Build cross-border understanding and skills

Already our lives in one country are intersecting with lives of other countries, and Industrial 4.0 will make the globe an even smaller place. Those who have travelled, who have acquired both knowledge and experience of other cultures will be in high demand, simply because almost every job will have global aspects. Prepare your employees via cross cultural training and global exposure.

FIVE – Make everyone an outstanding communicator

Traditional “soft skills” training will not prepare your team for the fast future – outstanding communication skills for Industrial 4.0 will include rapid pitching, ability to support points in a way which moves others, skills to relate directly and closely with those above and below you. The irony is that as the technology impacts even more, it is the brands that communicate well who will succeed.

SIX – Be known as team-based problem solvers

More work will be team-based, and a powerful brand characteristic is being “team-based problem solvers”. Do your problem-solving teams include members from other companies? Should you offer clients and customers a role?

SEVEN – Build self-reliance and resilience

With the pace of change, your people will need to be more self-reliant and resilient. Life will present challenges almost constantly. Make sure your people can cope, because that reflects in your brand being a steady and trusted delivery sources. When staff lose resilience, your brand is also diminished.

Stephen Manallack is the author of four books, including one published in India (“Soft Skills for a Flat World”, Tata McGraw-Hill India), a speaker on communication and is delivering a series of webinars on Industry 4.0 for Indian and Australian universities. He is a blogger at Into India and regular visitor to India. EMAIL stephen@manallack.com.au

India’s TCS to move 75% of employees to work from home – permanently!

Remember this man – his name is Rajesh Gopinathan, Chairman of TCS, and he is about to turn the way we work upside down – permanently!

India’s biggest IT firm, TCS, is set to shake up the global IT industry employment practices – and maybe start a global revolution in how we work.

Post-coronavirus, TCS has announced it will not go back to the old way, launching instead a new model called 25/25 using what is called Secure Borderless Work Spaces (SBWS).

Running up to 2025, TCS will ask a vast majority of 75% of its 450,000 employees globally to work from home, up from the industry average of 20% today.

TCS will discard its 20-year-old operating model and leapfrog into a new mode of work.

Others will have to follow. For a start, how will they compete for the best recruits? And how else will they achieve productivity gains?

The new model called 25/25 will require far less office space than occupied today. “We don’t believe that we need more than 25% of our workforce at our facilities in order to be 100% productive,” says TCS’s chief operating officer NG Subramaniam (pictured below).

TCS is something of a bellwether among India’s IT services firms, so Wipro, Infosys and others will likely follow.

Experts say before the lockdown no more than 15-20% of employees ever worked from home among the Indian services firms.

I have been on some of the Indian IT “campuses” – huge sites usually on the edge of the city in a park-like area with multiple buildings, lifestyle facilities and essentially a “living away from home” model for thousands of employees.

All this will change – and fast.

RIL’s Jio moves to shake up India’s retail market in partnership with kirana stores

INTO INDIA wrote recently about Facebook investing in Jio, the Reliance Industries (RIL) internet and telecoms arm.

Now they have announced a move which could long term shake up the retail space in India.

It seems that forever retail in India has been dominated by “mom and pop” local stores which are known as “kirana stores”. Most retail changes so far have been in competition with these stores.

But kirana stores have a firm grip on the Indian shopping psyche.

So now comes news that RIL has started home delivery of essentials in partnership with local kirana stores in Navi Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan. These services are available under JioMart, an e-commerce venture of Reliance Retail, an RIL subsidiary.

This innovation uses WhatsApp (owned by Facebook), which has more than 400 million users in India. If it goes well, the scheme will be extended to other Indian cities.

Bank of America reports that RIL could digitise 5 million stores by 2023. Kirana stores are keen to go digital, driven in a big way by GST compliance.

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of RIL, is moving fast to change from a petrochemical giant to a mixed business including strong telecom and retail capacity.

Facebook buys big in India and the battle for market share is on

Facebook has taken a huge leap into India.

It has bought a 9.99% stake in Reliance Jio platforms for US$5.7bn. According to Mugunthan Siva, CEO, India Avenue Investment Management (Sydney): “This is the largest investment for a minority stake by a technology company anywhere in the world.”

I would add it is the largest FDI in the technology sector in India.

So now the battle lines are drawn in India – the deal will also help Facebook battle rapidly growing Chinese apps like Tiktok which have attracted India’s youth. Not to mention a mouth-watering four-way tech tussle with Japan’s Softbank, US heavyweights Google & Amazon and China’s Alibaba.

India is worth fighting over – a recent report by Cisco said India is poised to have more than 900 million internet users due to the increased penetration of affordable smartphones and cheaper internet plans. India will also have around 2.1 billion internet-connected devices by 2023, said the report.

This is also another step for the Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) which has been pursuing an oil-to-telecom move plus cutting debt.

In less than four years, Jio has brought more than 388 million people online,

This battle is bigger than just the investment – Jio Platforms, Reliance Retail and Facebook’s WhatsApp service have also entered into a commercial partnership agreement to further accelerate Reliance Retail’s new commerce business on the JioMart platform using WhatsApp and to support small businesses on WhatsApp.

Ambani invested around $40 billion to launch Jio in 2016. RIL is also the largest retail player in India thanks to a series of aggressive expansionary moves into consumer-facing businesses such as e-commerce and grocery.