Ahmedabad: In what could see University of Oxford's foray into Indian education scenario through its wholly owned subsidiary Isis Innovation, the renowned institution has tied up with Whistling Group for a private university in Gujarat. To come up in an area of over 50 acres in its first phase, the varsity will be based out of the auto hub of Sanand near Ahmedabad.
The Whistling Group, an industrial group created by Gujarat entrepreneur Parag Shah, has signed a consultancy agreement with Isis Innovation Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Oxford. To be called 'Whistling University', the new university will offer postgraduate training in alternative energy, conventional energy and management, and will establish its own research programmes, aiming to become a national hub for innovation.
"It aims to be an independent, world-class university that will provide an opportunity to a number of under-privileged students who cannot afford or access world-class education, and will promote women's participation in the field of alternative energy. The new university will also establish a policy think tank to influence strategic decisions in the field of energy, environment, and sustainability on a global scale," said Parag Shah, chairman of the Whistling Group.
Isis Innovation Ltd is the technology transfer company of the University of Oxford, which manages consultancy work carried out by the University's experts. The agreement is the first such agreement Isis Innovation has signed in India. Isis Innovation will be engaged as a lead consultant to advice on the creation of an 'Innovation Centre' to facilitate translation of knowledge from the university.
"Oxford University has no plans in the foreseeable future to offer full degree courses anywhere other than Oxford itself, and so has no plans to establish an overseas campus. However, the university has identified increasing global cooperation as a key objective of its 2013-2018 strategic plan. This agreement between the Whistling Group and Isis will broaden overseas ties. We anticipate that the project will make a positive contribution to providing energy security for India," said Loren Griffith, Director of International Strategy at Oxford University.
The Whistling University will offer B.Tech, M.Tech, BBA, MBA, LLB, PhD and post doctoral work programs with the help of both Oxford sourced faculty and Oxford trained Indian faculties. According to Aviruk Chakraborty, director of Whistling Sun Education Pvt. Ltd., the Oxford arm will also offer 100% placement assistance in its eight year long exclusive partnership with the group, after which Isis can enter into partnership with any other group in India.
"We will invest around Rs 290 crore over next four years through 25% equity and 75% debt and will have a fee structure comparable to that of other private universities. We will be applying for a university status under the Gujarat Private Universities Act, University Grants Commission (UGC) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). We will begin the academic session of the first phase within a year from getting the university status with a batch size of 500 students," said Chakraborty.
In its full strength in the seventh year since inception, Whistling University will have a full-time faculty strength of 400 and a total student strength of 4,000.
Success in my Habit
Monday, November 18, 2013
Knorr-Bremse sets up truck braking systems plant in Pune
Pune: German manufacturer Knorr-Bremse has set up a new plant in Pune to make complete braking systems for trucks. It has also established a technology centre for engineering design in the city.
Set up with an investment of €14 million, the facility will address the needs of the domestic market as well as serve as the leading plant worldwide for automatic slack adjusters, said Klaus Deller, a board member at Knorr Bremse. Deller is responsible for the commercial vehicle business globally.
The greenfield plant can build braking systems for 80,000 trucks per year, and production is scalable, Deller said. Referring to the current slowdown in the Indian CV segment, he added: “We don’t care exactly when the demand will pick up, but we know it will pick up. And when it does, we will be there.”
India, at present, accounts for 2 per cent of the company’s global revenue. The target is to double this in the next three years, Deller said.
Knorr-Bremse’s Technical Centre India will have over 200 engineers working on global development projects for both truck and rail systems. The building also houses a software centre for the company’s rail division.
The German company’s entry into the Indian CV component market was via a joint venture with Tata Auto Components (TACO). The alliance was broken around five years ago with the former buying out TACO’s stake. Following this, it has set up its own expanded manufacturing facility.
Later this week, Knorr-Bremse is set to open its greenfield plant for railway systems in Faridabad.
Set up with an investment of €14 million, the facility will address the needs of the domestic market as well as serve as the leading plant worldwide for automatic slack adjusters, said Klaus Deller, a board member at Knorr Bremse. Deller is responsible for the commercial vehicle business globally.
The greenfield plant can build braking systems for 80,000 trucks per year, and production is scalable, Deller said. Referring to the current slowdown in the Indian CV segment, he added: “We don’t care exactly when the demand will pick up, but we know it will pick up. And when it does, we will be there.”
India, at present, accounts for 2 per cent of the company’s global revenue. The target is to double this in the next three years, Deller said.
Knorr-Bremse’s Technical Centre India will have over 200 engineers working on global development projects for both truck and rail systems. The building also houses a software centre for the company’s rail division.
The German company’s entry into the Indian CV component market was via a joint venture with Tata Auto Components (TACO). The alliance was broken around five years ago with the former buying out TACO’s stake. Following this, it has set up its own expanded manufacturing facility.
Later this week, Knorr-Bremse is set to open its greenfield plant for railway systems in Faridabad.
Knorr-Bremse sets up truck braking systems plant in Pune
Pune: German manufacturer Knorr-Bremse has set up a new plant in Pune to make complete braking systems for trucks. It has also established a technology centre for engineering design in the city.
Set up with an investment of €14 million, the facility will address the needs of the domestic market as well as serve as the leading plant worldwide for automatic slack adjusters, said Klaus Deller, a board member at Knorr Bremse. Deller is responsible for the commercial vehicle business globally.
The greenfield plant can build braking systems for 80,000 trucks per year, and production is scalable, Deller said. Referring to the current slowdown in the Indian CV segment, he added: “We don’t care exactly when the demand will pick up, but we know it will pick up. And when it does, we will be there.”
India, at present, accounts for 2 per cent of the company’s global revenue. The target is to double this in the next three years, Deller said.
Knorr-Bremse’s Technical Centre India will have over 200 engineers working on global development projects for both truck and rail systems. The building also houses a software centre for the company’s rail division.
The German company’s entry into the Indian CV component market was via a joint venture with Tata Auto Components (TACO). The alliance was broken around five years ago with the former buying out TACO’s stake. Following this, it has set up its own expanded manufacturing facility.
Later this week, Knorr-Bremse is set to open its greenfield plant for railway systems in Faridabad.
Set up with an investment of €14 million, the facility will address the needs of the domestic market as well as serve as the leading plant worldwide for automatic slack adjusters, said Klaus Deller, a board member at Knorr Bremse. Deller is responsible for the commercial vehicle business globally.
The greenfield plant can build braking systems for 80,000 trucks per year, and production is scalable, Deller said. Referring to the current slowdown in the Indian CV segment, he added: “We don’t care exactly when the demand will pick up, but we know it will pick up. And when it does, we will be there.”
India, at present, accounts for 2 per cent of the company’s global revenue. The target is to double this in the next three years, Deller said.
Knorr-Bremse’s Technical Centre India will have over 200 engineers working on global development projects for both truck and rail systems. The building also houses a software centre for the company’s rail division.
The German company’s entry into the Indian CV component market was via a joint venture with Tata Auto Components (TACO). The alliance was broken around five years ago with the former buying out TACO’s stake. Following this, it has set up its own expanded manufacturing facility.
Later this week, Knorr-Bremse is set to open its greenfield plant for railway systems in Faridabad.
Govt to set up joint task force to develop services sector
New Delhi: The Government will set up a joint task force for the services sector together with the industry to prepare an action plan for the development of the sector and increase services exports, according to Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma.
Agreeing to the industry’s suggestion of setting up a National Services Competitive Council on the lines of National Manufacturing Competitive Council, Sharma said “We have to have a forum to address the varied needs of the sector and to identify training and other needs of each vertical.”
He was speaking at the ‘Services Conclave’ jointly organised by CII and the Centre for WTO Studies.
The two-day conclave focuses on ways to boost the domestic services industry and increase India’s share in the $4-trillion global services trade from the present 3 per cent.
The Minister said the services sector exports, by and large, were from verticals such as IT, ITES and BPO sectors. There was a lot of scope to diversify in segments such as animation, media and entertainment, legal servicing, architecture, healthcare, tourism and medical tourism.
Sharma asked industry representatives to come forward and help the Government, to take up at various international forums the need for more liberal movement of skilled persons under Mode 4 of World Trade Organisation rules. Often movement of skilled persons is confused with immigration, though such movements are temporary in nature, he said
The Minister also asked the industry to explore new markets such as Africa to boost India’s export of services.
“Even for services sector we need to look at other major markets. We have a strong presence in North America. Regions such as Africa have huge opportunities and there you can be more cost competitive,” he said.
Agreeing to the industry’s suggestion of setting up a National Services Competitive Council on the lines of National Manufacturing Competitive Council, Sharma said “We have to have a forum to address the varied needs of the sector and to identify training and other needs of each vertical.”
He was speaking at the ‘Services Conclave’ jointly organised by CII and the Centre for WTO Studies.
The two-day conclave focuses on ways to boost the domestic services industry and increase India’s share in the $4-trillion global services trade from the present 3 per cent.
The Minister said the services sector exports, by and large, were from verticals such as IT, ITES and BPO sectors. There was a lot of scope to diversify in segments such as animation, media and entertainment, legal servicing, architecture, healthcare, tourism and medical tourism.
Sharma asked industry representatives to come forward and help the Government, to take up at various international forums the need for more liberal movement of skilled persons under Mode 4 of World Trade Organisation rules. Often movement of skilled persons is confused with immigration, though such movements are temporary in nature, he said
The Minister also asked the industry to explore new markets such as Africa to boost India’s export of services.
“Even for services sector we need to look at other major markets. We have a strong presence in North America. Regions such as Africa have huge opportunities and there you can be more cost competitive,” he said.
BPCL to invest $4 billion to raise refining capacity
Kochi: Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) has lined up investments worth $4 billion (around Rs 25,340 crore today) to increase its refining capacity, a top executive of the state-run company said on Monday.
Capacity expansion and innovation are imperatives to sustain in the present-day business environment, S. Varadarajan, Chairman and Managing Director, said at the Refinery Technology Meet here.
The company had earlier said it would increase its refining capacity from the current 30.5 million tonne a year to 47.5 mt by 2016-17.
The three-day meet, a national conclave of petroleum refinery experts, opened here on Monday with a call to enhance refinery performance to improve margin.
The 18th RTM, jointly organised by the Centre for High Technology and BPCL will see the participation of around 700 delegates and international experts in the petroleum industry.
In his inaugural address, Vivek Rae, Secretary, Petroleum and Natural Gas, underlined the need for energy security in India considering the over-dependence on crude imports.
The Petroleum Ministry along with other ministries is taking efforts to enhance energy security through exploration, he added.
Capacity expansion and innovation are imperatives to sustain in the present-day business environment, S. Varadarajan, Chairman and Managing Director, said at the Refinery Technology Meet here.
The company had earlier said it would increase its refining capacity from the current 30.5 million tonne a year to 47.5 mt by 2016-17.
The three-day meet, a national conclave of petroleum refinery experts, opened here on Monday with a call to enhance refinery performance to improve margin.
The 18th RTM, jointly organised by the Centre for High Technology and BPCL will see the participation of around 700 delegates and international experts in the petroleum industry.
In his inaugural address, Vivek Rae, Secretary, Petroleum and Natural Gas, underlined the need for energy security in India considering the over-dependence on crude imports.
The Petroleum Ministry along with other ministries is taking efforts to enhance energy security through exploration, he added.
Biocon setting up Biotech Training Institute in Bangalore
Bangalore: BioconBSE 1.08 % said it is setting up an institute in Bangalore to train graduates in skills required for finding employment in the fast-growing biotechnology industry. Starting January 2014, the institute will offer a 16-week certificate-programme in partnership with California-based Keck Graduate Institute.
"There is a dearth of skilled expertise in this space, which inhibits our ability to innovate and work on deep domain experiments. Biocon Academy aims to bring world class training programs for biotech students in India through customised programs," said Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chairperson and MD at Biocon. "Given the growing stature of India's life sciences industry, both Biocon and the Indian life sciences sector as a whole will benefit greatly from this collaboration."
The programme-with a course fee of Rs 6 lakh-will cover areas including molecular biotechnology, pharmaceutical development, bio-pharmaceutical quality assurance and introduction to US FDA and European Laws.
India's biotech sector currently is valued at $11billion, growing at an average annual rate of more than 20% over the past ten years. Every year roughly 40,000 biotech students graduate from 725 institutions.
Starting with a batch of 30, the academy aims at enrolling over a hundred students in a year's time. These graduates will find job opportunities in Biocon and other leading biotechnology companies. Biocon has invested about 10 crore in this initiative. This will also include scholarship of up to 75% of course fee on the basis of merit.
"There is a dearth of skilled expertise in this space, which inhibits our ability to innovate and work on deep domain experiments. Biocon Academy aims to bring world class training programs for biotech students in India through customised programs," said Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chairperson and MD at Biocon. "Given the growing stature of India's life sciences industry, both Biocon and the Indian life sciences sector as a whole will benefit greatly from this collaboration."
The programme-with a course fee of Rs 6 lakh-will cover areas including molecular biotechnology, pharmaceutical development, bio-pharmaceutical quality assurance and introduction to US FDA and European Laws.
India's biotech sector currently is valued at $11billion, growing at an average annual rate of more than 20% over the past ten years. Every year roughly 40,000 biotech students graduate from 725 institutions.
Starting with a batch of 30, the academy aims at enrolling over a hundred students in a year's time. These graduates will find job opportunities in Biocon and other leading biotechnology companies. Biocon has invested about 10 crore in this initiative. This will also include scholarship of up to 75% of course fee on the basis of merit.
PepsiCo to invest Rs 33k cr in India by 2020: Nooyi
Bullish on the India story, company plans to double manufacturing capacity
New Delhi: PepsiCo Inc, along with its partners, would invest $5.5 billion (Rs 33,000 crore) to double its manufacturing capacity in India by 2020, Indra Nooyi, chairperson & CEO of the food & beverage company, announced on Monday.
With arch-rival Coca-Cola’s plan to invest $5 billion in the country by 2020, announced in June last year, PepsiCo’s announcement means India will have received $10.5 billion in investments from the two global giants by the end of this decade.
Nooyi, on a two-day visit to India, revealed her company’s plans after a meeting with Finance Minister P Chidambaram. Later, she said in an interview: “Here, we will make investments in innovation, manufacturing, infrastructure, selling & go-to-market strategy and agriculture — in both food and beverage segments. This will double our manufacturing capacity by 2020.”
Explaining her bullishness on India, she added: “We are making this investment as we believe India’s fundamental story is still sound. The demographic dividend is there, the middle-class is growing. India will remain among very important markets for PepsiCo. Today, it is among the top 10 markets for us; I believe it will keep moving up. So far, we’ have only scratched the surface of the long-term growth opportunities.”
VIDEO: PepsiCo to invest Rs 33,000 crore
Last year, Nooyi’s counterpart at Coca-Cola, Muhtar Kent, had announced an investment of $5 billion in the country by 2020. He had said the move would help India climb two notches for Coke to become the fifth-largest market for it in terms of volumes.
Both PepsiCo and Coke, since their respective entries into India in 1990 and 1993, have invested about $2 billion here. PepsiCo India has 42 bottling plants in the country, while Coke has 58.
However, India’s Rs 30,000-crore soft drinks market, where more than 1.2 billion cases are sold annually, still offers the two global giants scope for major expansion. This is because the per-capita annual soft drink consumption in the country stands at a low 20 servings, compared with the international average of 94. Also, these beverages are currently available at only a fourth of the country’s eight million retail outlets.
While Coke controls Sprite and Thums Up, the top two soft drink brands in the country, PepsiCo’s Pepsi is the third. But the latter’s thrust on the foods segment and organic brand-building — through Pepsi, Lay’s, Kurkure, 7UP, Slice, Mirinda, Mountain Dew and Aquafina — help it raise an estimated Rs 1,000 crore of annual retail sales.
Also, through NourishCo, its joint venture with the Tatas, the company is targetting the lower end of the market, where pricing is key.
New Delhi: PepsiCo Inc, along with its partners, would invest $5.5 billion (Rs 33,000 crore) to double its manufacturing capacity in India by 2020, Indra Nooyi, chairperson & CEO of the food & beverage company, announced on Monday.
With arch-rival Coca-Cola’s plan to invest $5 billion in the country by 2020, announced in June last year, PepsiCo’s announcement means India will have received $10.5 billion in investments from the two global giants by the end of this decade.
Nooyi, on a two-day visit to India, revealed her company’s plans after a meeting with Finance Minister P Chidambaram. Later, she said in an interview: “Here, we will make investments in innovation, manufacturing, infrastructure, selling & go-to-market strategy and agriculture — in both food and beverage segments. This will double our manufacturing capacity by 2020.”
Explaining her bullishness on India, she added: “We are making this investment as we believe India’s fundamental story is still sound. The demographic dividend is there, the middle-class is growing. India will remain among very important markets for PepsiCo. Today, it is among the top 10 markets for us; I believe it will keep moving up. So far, we’ have only scratched the surface of the long-term growth opportunities.”
VIDEO: PepsiCo to invest Rs 33,000 crore
Last year, Nooyi’s counterpart at Coca-Cola, Muhtar Kent, had announced an investment of $5 billion in the country by 2020. He had said the move would help India climb two notches for Coke to become the fifth-largest market for it in terms of volumes.
Both PepsiCo and Coke, since their respective entries into India in 1990 and 1993, have invested about $2 billion here. PepsiCo India has 42 bottling plants in the country, while Coke has 58.
However, India’s Rs 30,000-crore soft drinks market, where more than 1.2 billion cases are sold annually, still offers the two global giants scope for major expansion. This is because the per-capita annual soft drink consumption in the country stands at a low 20 servings, compared with the international average of 94. Also, these beverages are currently available at only a fourth of the country’s eight million retail outlets.
While Coke controls Sprite and Thums Up, the top two soft drink brands in the country, PepsiCo’s Pepsi is the third. But the latter’s thrust on the foods segment and organic brand-building — through Pepsi, Lay’s, Kurkure, 7UP, Slice, Mirinda, Mountain Dew and Aquafina — help it raise an estimated Rs 1,000 crore of annual retail sales.
Also, through NourishCo, its joint venture with the Tatas, the company is targetting the lower end of the market, where pricing is key.
Centre plans 4 solar UMPPs of Rs 90,000 crore
These projects are planned in Rajasthan (4000 MW), Gujarat (4,000 MW), Kargil (2,000 MW) and Ladakh (5,000 MW)
Mumbai: The Centre has proposed four ultra mega solar power projects (UMPPs). These would be in Rajasthan (4,000 Mw), Gujarat (4,000 Mw), Kargil (2,000 Mw) and Ladakh (5,000 Mw). These would cost Rs 90,000 crore.
Tarun Kapoor, joint secretary, ministry of new and renewable energy, said the per Mw capital cost has been estimated at Rs 6 crore against the existing Rs 7-7.5 crore. The per unit rate is estimated at Rs 5.50.
'"The one in Rajasthan would be developed on an engineering procurement and construction (EPC) basis. For this, public undertakings Bharat Heavy Electricals, Solar Energy Corporation of India, Power Grid, Hindustan Salt and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam and Rajasthan Electronics & Instruments will form a joint venture company.”
According to Kapoor, BHEL which will be a lead company in the proposed JVC, will manufacture solar panels needed for Rajasthan project.
Kapoor informed that the first phase of 1,000 MW of Rajasthan UMPP is expected to be operational in three years while the entire project in seven years. The land has already been identified. He said the power to be produced from Rajasthan UMPP will be sold to Solar Energy Corporation which will trade it to various distribution companies.
As far as Gujarat UMPP is concerned, it will be developed with five to six companies. However, Kapoor said the Centre has yet to finalise details in this regard. Further, a lot of private developers have desired to develop 1,000 MW to 3,000 MW on their own.
However, it won't be possible as the project will be tendered, he added. According to Kapoor, transmission is a major issue for the development of Kargil and Ladakh UMPPs.
Mumbai: The Centre has proposed four ultra mega solar power projects (UMPPs). These would be in Rajasthan (4,000 Mw), Gujarat (4,000 Mw), Kargil (2,000 Mw) and Ladakh (5,000 Mw). These would cost Rs 90,000 crore.
Tarun Kapoor, joint secretary, ministry of new and renewable energy, said the per Mw capital cost has been estimated at Rs 6 crore against the existing Rs 7-7.5 crore. The per unit rate is estimated at Rs 5.50.
'"The one in Rajasthan would be developed on an engineering procurement and construction (EPC) basis. For this, public undertakings Bharat Heavy Electricals, Solar Energy Corporation of India, Power Grid, Hindustan Salt and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam and Rajasthan Electronics & Instruments will form a joint venture company.”
According to Kapoor, BHEL which will be a lead company in the proposed JVC, will manufacture solar panels needed for Rajasthan project.
Kapoor informed that the first phase of 1,000 MW of Rajasthan UMPP is expected to be operational in three years while the entire project in seven years. The land has already been identified. He said the power to be produced from Rajasthan UMPP will be sold to Solar Energy Corporation which will trade it to various distribution companies.
As far as Gujarat UMPP is concerned, it will be developed with five to six companies. However, Kapoor said the Centre has yet to finalise details in this regard. Further, a lot of private developers have desired to develop 1,000 MW to 3,000 MW on their own.
However, it won't be possible as the project will be tendered, he added. According to Kapoor, transmission is a major issue for the development of Kargil and Ladakh UMPPs.
RBI allows investors to invest in credit enhanced bonds up to $5 bn
Investment permitted up to $5 bn within overall limit
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to allow various investors to invest in the credit enhanced bonds up to a limit of $5 billion within the overall limit of $51 billion earmarked for corporate debt, said RBI on Monday.
These investors include Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) registered Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), Qualified Foreign Investors (QFIs) and long term investors registered with Sebi – Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs), multilateral agencies, pension/ insurance/ endowment funds and foreign central banks.
Earlier RBI had said that these parties may purchase, on repatriation basis, government securities and non-convertible debentures (NCDs) / bonds issued by an Indian company subject to norms and limits as prescribed by RBI and Sebi from time to time.
The present limits for investments by FIIs, QFIs and long term investors registered with Sebi in government securities and corporate debt stands at $30 billion and $51 billion, respectively.
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to allow various investors to invest in the credit enhanced bonds up to a limit of $5 billion within the overall limit of $51 billion earmarked for corporate debt, said RBI on Monday.
These investors include Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) registered Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), Qualified Foreign Investors (QFIs) and long term investors registered with Sebi – Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs), multilateral agencies, pension/ insurance/ endowment funds and foreign central banks.
Earlier RBI had said that these parties may purchase, on repatriation basis, government securities and non-convertible debentures (NCDs) / bonds issued by an Indian company subject to norms and limits as prescribed by RBI and Sebi from time to time.
The present limits for investments by FIIs, QFIs and long term investors registered with Sebi in government securities and corporate debt stands at $30 billion and $51 billion, respectively.
‘Closet consumers’ of luxury goods an emerging class in India: CII report
New Delhi: The past 10 years of economic growth has given rise to a new wealthy class in India —‘closet consumers’— who are a major force behind the country’s luxury market growth, according to a report.
Published by the Confederation of Indian Industry and marketing firm IMRB International, the report, titled ‘The Changing Face of Luxury in India’, focuses on identifying and understanding India’s closet consumers. These are new generation entrepreneurs, senior corporate executives, farmers who have sold their land to developers and the BPO generation that lives with parents and has money to splurge.
Despite their newfound riches, the report indicates that there is an inherent middle class mindset among this class, even as they can no longer be classified as middle class based on their income.
“The inner conflict between a middle class mindset and the globally rich income level, between conspicuous consumption and a level of luxury is what we call the ‘closet consumer’,” says the report.
It also gives an overview of the luxury goods market, which has witnessed a growth of 15 per cent over the past three years and is estimated to have reached $7.58 billion (around Rs 48,000 crore today) in 2012.
Luxury products have grown the fastest at 22 per cent compared with luxury services at 15 per cent and luxury assets at 9.4 per cent – primarily contributed by slow growth in luxury real estate.
It is luxury categories such as apparel and accessories, perfumes, fine dining and automotive that have contributed to this growth, the report says, adding the Indian luxury market still accounts for almost a negligible 1–2 per cent of the global luxury market.
Industry experts believe multiple factors are contributing to the slow growth – low priority status assigned to luxury goods by the Government, lack of adequate range of luxury goods and service levels that are below par. They also believe Indian culture dissuades customers from flaunting their wealth. Yet they are optimistic about the above factors changing in the coming years and predict that the luxury market will boom in India over the next few years.
Closet consumers are cost-conscious and seek “value” even when buying luxury products. And their definitions, symbols of luxury are often in variance with conventional ones, the report adds.
Published by the Confederation of Indian Industry and marketing firm IMRB International, the report, titled ‘The Changing Face of Luxury in India’, focuses on identifying and understanding India’s closet consumers. These are new generation entrepreneurs, senior corporate executives, farmers who have sold their land to developers and the BPO generation that lives with parents and has money to splurge.
Despite their newfound riches, the report indicates that there is an inherent middle class mindset among this class, even as they can no longer be classified as middle class based on their income.
“The inner conflict between a middle class mindset and the globally rich income level, between conspicuous consumption and a level of luxury is what we call the ‘closet consumer’,” says the report.
It also gives an overview of the luxury goods market, which has witnessed a growth of 15 per cent over the past three years and is estimated to have reached $7.58 billion (around Rs 48,000 crore today) in 2012.
Luxury products have grown the fastest at 22 per cent compared with luxury services at 15 per cent and luxury assets at 9.4 per cent – primarily contributed by slow growth in luxury real estate.
It is luxury categories such as apparel and accessories, perfumes, fine dining and automotive that have contributed to this growth, the report says, adding the Indian luxury market still accounts for almost a negligible 1–2 per cent of the global luxury market.
Industry experts believe multiple factors are contributing to the slow growth – low priority status assigned to luxury goods by the Government, lack of adequate range of luxury goods and service levels that are below par. They also believe Indian culture dissuades customers from flaunting their wealth. Yet they are optimistic about the above factors changing in the coming years and predict that the luxury market will boom in India over the next few years.
Closet consumers are cost-conscious and seek “value” even when buying luxury products. And their definitions, symbols of luxury are often in variance with conventional ones, the report adds.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)