Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said with the market size of the luxury sector in India expected to hit $100 billion in eight years from the current $7-$8 billion, the sector will require greater attention and facilitation to ensure that it fits into the government’s Make in India initiative.
Ms. Sitharaman said the global luxury industry is worth around $2 trillion, of which BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) account for 30%. She said India is the lone nation in BRICS where the economy is growing at over 7%, adding that “the possibility of the luxury industry to survive and grow sufficiently in India is there because of its aspirational class.”
Besides, the number of high net worth individuals in India is growing and they will comprise 6% of all billionaires in the next five years.
Observing that the government alone would not be able to help India’s craftsmen, she asked domestic industry to identify artisans from across the country and give them their due recognition so that the gap between them and the market can be bridged.
Speaking at the Luxury Symposium 2017, the minister said it is painful to find out that “wonderful” artisans are standing in queues for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MNREGA) scheme to get minimum wages.
Ambassador of France to India Alexandre Ziegler said many big French luxury brands are present in India, adding that with a growing middle class, a greater awareness about luxury brands, and a large section of the population being youth, “India is definitely the place (for French firms) to expand their business... The better motto will be ‘Make with India’ and French companies will make with India.”
However, he said even as there are certain regulatory and fiscal challenges, there have been FDI policy reforms that are facilitating new investments.
Rakesh Sarna, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces said, “Luxury is richness of a society... We, collectively with the government, thought leaders and society must get out there and see what we need to do make our society richer, holistically.”
