Vocal for Local should be the Mindset for New India
Published on : Sunday 16-08-2020
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pushed for the need to be ‘self-reliance’ or ‘aatmanirbhar’, as he highlighted India’s success in fighting the coronavirus disease.
The Indian government has asked the local companies to focus on “Made in India”, but also for the promulgation of local brands, manufacturing, and supply chain. For instance, In the Indian fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, particularly in food, Indian brands have been following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘vocal for local’ or localization vision for a while now.
“When the Prime Minister said to go ‘vocal for local’, he meant that products be made competitive vis-a-vis global brands. It didn’t mean that one must only buy products that have a logo ‘made in India’ on it,” – RS Sodhi, MD, Amul
Performance of Indian Brands in the Current Indian Industry
In the Indian FMCG market, Indian brands have been leaders in ‘Indian categories’ such as hair oils, health supplements, whereas international brands have been leading in ‘international categories’ such as shampoo and toothpaste. Moreover, Indian brands have also been gaining market share even in these highly competitive categories such as toothpaste with their highly differentiated offering.
The trend within the food industry is total ‘vocal for local’ when it comes to consumer demand. in the past, the reason to buy a foreign brand was the limited presence of (Indian) brands. Along with that, there was a concern of trust in the local bands as far as the manufacturing is concerned. Now, there are a lot of national food brands, and they have developed over the years. More than 60% of the brands in the food industry are local brands unlike personal hygiene, cosmetic, and consumer durable segments.
Another instance, ITC Company has also invested extensively in developing a portfolio of Indian brands, with 25 created from scratch. Investments in cutting-edge R&D and state-of-the-art manufacturing drive these winning Indian brands and make progress in terms of trust in the domestic marketplace.
Meanwhile, campaigns to promote ‘vocal for local’ campaigns have been underway. ITC has been undertaking a ‘proudly Indian campaign’ on social media platforms. Dabur has also launched a series of advertisements, as well as special videos, as part of the campaign. Dabur has been highlighting the Indian roots of the company and its “135-year-old heritage of caring for every Indian households’ health and well-being”. Such strong and focused campaigns will lead the awareness for ‘Vocal for Local’, ‘Make in India’, and ‘Local Manufacturing’.
Not challenge-free
“The mindset of free India should be ‘vocal for local’. We should appreciate our local products. If we don’t do this then our products will not get the opportunity to do better and will not get encouraged,” PM Modi said.
There have been challenges in the Indian economy. When Amul was launched in India, the Indian market was dominated by multinational brands, as they were having quality, advertising budget, and expansion power.
The government’s efforts to ensure ‘vocal to local’ at least in the food industry have been pretty obvious. The government, in its efforts, is trying to make sure they use and promote local produce as much as they can, as well as ban lower-graded ingredients in order to gain trust and support from local consumers.
The government could consider levying a uniform 5% GST for Ayurvedic products and medicines comprising classical, proprietary, and OTC products. Currently, over 80% of Ayurvedic products fall under the proprietary and OTC categories that attract a GST of 12%.
“Numerous challenges are present for Aatmanirbhar Bharat”, but highlighted the demographic strength of the country which he said is capable of finding a solution to all such challenges. “If there are lakhs of challenges then the country also has power which gives crores of solutions, my countrymen who give us the strength of the solution,” PM Modi said.
In conclusion for any commercial organization, the brand is its most valuable asset. When a brand sells in the global market, irrespective of where it is produced, sold, or ultimately consumed in the world, apart from royalties in technical fees, the owner of the domestic firm enjoys appreciation in the valuation of his brand. This is also a proven MNC strategy. I feel this is also consistent with the PM’s stand of not being a part of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement and opting for a complete make in India policy.
This article is based on the speech of PM Modi on 15th August Independence Day and his focus to bring awareness for "Vocal for Local" in the coming years. If you need detailed information related to local companies, local trends, local opportunities, and local market statistics, kindly mail your requirements at [email protected]. We look forward to serving you and help you to grow through our reports. Feel free to download our latest magazines at https://www.industrialautomationindia.in/magazines
