Hey readers,
A relative pointed at an old Amitabh Bachchan film the other day and said, "That man has sold everything." Everyone laughed. But it stuck with me. Because that's true. Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan have sold almost everything from cement to chyawanprash. That could be true of Sachin Tendulkar and Akshay Kumar also. They have been around for around three decades. Their endorsements tell us a surprisingly honest picture of how India has changed. Not the India of GDP charts, but the India of what people aspire to own, trust, and eventually build their lives around.
Apparel and footwear, which dominated their 2000s portfolios, have disappeared. Cement, steel, plywood, healthcare apps, and digital platforms have occupied those spaces. Then, Indian-owned brands went from 58% to 77% of their portfolios. There's a lot to unpack. Read here: Four Celebrities Reveal A Lot About Three Decades Of India's Consumer Market.
Then, let's talk about changes in India's manufacturing.
Well, on a macro level, not much has changed. But India's journey in smartphone manufacturing is awesome. It's now the second-largest in the world. It started with scale. It wanted to assemble as many smartphones as possible, and it succeeded. Now the government wants to move deeper into the supply chain by encouraging local components, design and R&D.
But Vietnam was already ahead of India. Today, it aims to be the next China. Google built its Pixel 11 phone in Vietnam, right from scratch. Even Apple chose it for making complex products like AirPods and iPads. No one has abandoned India. But the role is restricted to assembling phones.
India wants to change that. It needs to close the gap with Vietnam as soon as possible, before any other country reaches that level. That's the story behind India Wants To Be Vietnam. Vietnam Wants To Be China.
From India, let us move on to the USA.
The US Treasury recently doubled its buyback of long-dated bonds from $2 billion to $4 billion. It wants to bring long term yields down. It worked for about a day. The 30-year yield dipped, then climbed right back. That's because challenging fundamentals haven't changed at all. There are multiple ways to keep yields low. Scott Bessent and Donald Trump are choosing cosmetic changes, not structural ones. Economists argue that yields will keep rising for three reasons: higher inflation, higher debt and deficits and higher demand for capital from AI companies. Read in depth: US Bond Buyback Will Not Lower Yields.
India's consumers are changing. India's manufacturing is trying to move up. And the US is dealing with a world where capital is getting more expensive.
Some changes are encouraging. Some are worrying. And some will take years to play out. We may even see small changes around us. Some brands will pop up in our shopping carts or hoardings. We may see ‘Made in India' tags often for phones we buy. And the next EMIs could go up, just because interest rates may rise worldwide. These are the clues worth watching.
That's the week.
If you made it this far, I'd love to hear from you.
Which of these stories stayed with you? What stories can you share around these topics?
And more importantly, what should I dig into next?
An everyday object, a policy, a price that suddenly changed, a trend that's growing around… send it my way. Just hit reply. I read everything.
See you next Saturday.
Cheers, Swapnil
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of NDTV Profit or its affiliates. Readers are advised to conduct their own research or consult a qualified professional before making any investment or business decisions. NDTV Profit does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented in this article.
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