India: Comedy Central v the censor
The debate around censorship in India has this week focused on a new target – Comedy Central.
The television channel has secured a stay order which delays a temporary transmission ban imposed after the airing of what the information ministry termed “obscene dialogues” and “vulgar words derogatory to women” which “appeared to offend good taste and decency”. Continue reading »
India’s latest blackout: TV ads
Cheesy taglines, catchy tunes and cringingly overdramatic delivery make adverts an important part of Indian television – they’re a topic of conversation as often as the TV shows themselves.
But this week, to the delight of many, several broadcasters have cut ads on the back of a tax dispute. Continue reading »
Guest post: how fridges will transform India’s milk market – and change lives
By Tassos Stassopoulos of AllianceBernstein
Evolving trends in emerging markets are not always driven by macro-economic policies or demographics. Sometimes, something as simple as a fridge can change millions of people’s lives and re-define an entire industry.
This is exactly what’s happening in India’s milk market. The world’s second most-populous nation is also the world’s largest market for milk, yet less than 20 per cent of households own a fridge. The popularity of the white stuff in India, combined with the proliferation of refrigerators from a very low base, are perfect conditions for a milk boom, driving by the unique consumer situation in this market. Continue reading »
Guest post: India’s workers have never had it so good
By Saurabh Mukherjea and Ritika Mankar-Mukherjee of Ambit Capital
Indian newspapers paint a gloomy picture of the state of the nation. They point to the 5 percentage-point drop over the last five years in the country’s once-feted economic growth rate. They bemoan the depressed stock market which has delivered negative returns over the last five years. And they point to the stagnant incomes of their readers who are, generally, white-collar workers and businessmen.
What the newspapers don’t do is discuss the remarkable surge over the last five years in the fortunes of less privileged workers – wages for blue-collar workers have been growing at a staggering 15 per cent or more annually. Continue reading »
India: mangoes go from prince to pauper as prices halve
The alphonso mango is known as the “king of fruits” in India. Boxes of the mangoes are presented as gifts to friends and family and – more recently – among corporate clients too.
But the mango man – as the common man is colloquially known in India – may actually get his hands on some mangoes, as the price of alphonsos has halved this season. Continue reading »
India tourism: violence to women knocks visitor numbers
India was once the first stop on any twenty-first century equivalent of the Grand Tour – a country famous for an abundance of ancient temples, dramatic mountainsides and sandy beaches.
The country is still a hot topic for travellers – but for a far less positive reason. Since the brutal rape of a 23 year-old student in Delhi in December, tourists are concerned about safety in India – and visitor numbers reflect that. Continue reading »
India: amid water shortages stars call for a dry Holi
The street cleaners of Mumbai will be relieved. The children of Mumbai will be disappointed. And their mothers will be pleased they won’t be left with sniffling infants on Thursday morning.
As the festival of colours is celebrated across India, with a backdrop of severe drought in some states, politicians and celebrities are pleading with the public to play a dry Holi. Continue reading »
India: tricky time for men’s TV channel
It’s a strange time to be launching a men’s television channel in India, given the controversy over gender issues in the country and the outrage over several widely-publicised brutal rape cases.
But Anil Ambani’s Reliance Broadcast Network is going ahead anyway, teaming up with RTL Group, the European entertainment network, to launch Big RTL Thrill, a channel targetting Indian men aged between 15 and 44. Continue reading »
Indian women’s rights: big companies join in – and miss the point
Since the brutal rape of a 23 year-old student in the nation’s capital in December, the gender debate has captured the attention of the Indian public – and companies are reacting.
Some businesses have adapted their operations to boost women’s empowerment. But now, multinationals in sectors without any obvious link to gender are getting in on the game. Continue reading »
Indian weddings: Costa lot
Multinationals are never slow to spot a branding opportunity. Everywhere from the local supermarket to the Olympic Games has become familiar territory. But India has managed to come up with a new possibility – the wedding reception. Continue reading »
India: women turn to dedicated cabs
Mumbai’s women’s-only taxi service, Viira Cabs, has a lot to offer – both for the female passengers seeking safety and for the women it trains as drivers.
After a 23 year-old girl was brutally raped on a bus in Delhi last month, public attention has turned to the issue of women’s safety. And businesses that have developed solutions to these security issues are growing as a result. Continue reading »
Playboy in India: glamour, not nudity
The magazine may not be available yet, but Playboy plans to open in India. That’s right, the magazine famous for nudity – and underrated for it’s articles – is going to open retail outlets, clubs, hotels and fashion cafés, according to the Economic Times.
This is in a country whose film industry has only recently begun showing committed couples kissing. The same country where anything – from a couple’s celebrating Valentine’s Day to an impromptu kiss between a famous Buddhist and a Celebrity Big Brother contestant – can spark outrage and protest. Continue reading »
[video] India’s middle class
The FT’s Kanupriya Kapoor talks to three very different people about their lives, work and aspirations to understand what being middle class means in India.
Bollywood takes on India Inc
The bulk of Bollywood films are not exactly known for their trenchant social commentary. Modern Bollywood music even less so. Songs about sexy girls and boyz [sic] tend to dominate.
So it is rare that a mainstream Bollywood song takes aim at corporate India. But that is exactly what a song from the upcoming movie “Chakravyuh”, a film about the Naxalite separatist movement which releases next month, has done. And it has elicited a response from the Confederation of Indian Industry. Continue reading »
India: turning gloomy
In the years following the global economic crisis, Indians remained overwhelmingly optimistic about the country’s future prospects, as economic growth remained resilient driven by the huge pent-up demand from within the country.
But over the last year, many Indians have lost faith in their country’s economic growth story, growing deeply pessimistic about the country’s future, as corruption scandals, persistent inflation and political bickering have eroded confidence in the Congress-led government. Continue reading »
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