LOCAL IS THE NEW GLOBAL

A wise man once said "Change is the only constant". This true especially in todays time. Today technology is booming more than ever, everybody has a smartphone, Artificial Intelligence is booming more than ever. It is already being used in the defense industry, automobile industry and the food industry. For all companies to adapt to this new age, an essence of "LOCAL IS THE NEW GLOBAL" is required.

Companies instead working at national and international levels must first target their own backyard. This means that they should utilize and rely on their own city, and state markets before going international and relying on foreign markets. To achieve this new goal companies must:-

1) Invest in R&D- Over the last few years, many Indian brands have been actively investing in R&D and advanced manufacturing to establish a stronghold in the Indian market and export to global markets, Ankit Agarwal, CEO — Connectivity Solutions, STL, pointed out;

Cadbury Wedding Gift

2) Embrace and utilize local traditions- Utilizing Indian traditions in Quality Indian Products will make the consumer more inclined to buying the product. An example of such a company is Cadbury, they use the Indian festivals like Diwali and Ganpati and make special chocolates and sweets for this occasion, thus intriguing the consumer to buy them;

Godrej Logo

3) Focus on quality not quantity- Godrej Appliances has been working in line with ‘Make in India’ and upping its indigenous manufacturing capabilities for the past three years, said Kamal Nandi, Business Head and Executive Vice-President, Godrej Appliances, who is also president of industry body CEAMA, adding that it is now ready to manufacture each of its categories in India. It will be prioritising further automation and digitisation, apart from introducing emerging technologies in its manufacturing, he added. “But consumers today are discerning — they won’t buy Indian products and services just because the Government has mandated it,” Nandi added. Accordingly, Godrej Appliances is making efforts to focus on the quality of its products, rather than just the fact that they are being made in India, he said;

Havells Logo

India as market may be beneficial to various companies if the company utilizes the "Make in India" campaign. When companies use this to make quality products, the cost price will be much lower than making the same product abroad and than coming to the local markets and selling it here. Companies who have utilized the Indian markets and believe in "Local is the new Global" have been able to reach unseen heights. An example of this is Havells - “Indian brands have shown immense strength and resilience over the years and are quite competitive when compared to their MNC counterparts. Good Indian companies are investing in the MNCs’ stronghold like R&D, marketing, manufacturing, to name a few. and have bridged the gap immensely,” said a Havells spokesperson.

The Indian government’s vision of making ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ is to reduce dependency on foreign products and focus on making local the new global, thereby, carving opportunities amid the crisis. However, the initiative doesn’t mean that India will cut itself off from the global development. It is promoting local manufacturing, local markets, local supply chain as the way ahead lies in local. This is all for a WHOLE NEW WORLD!