The Knowledge to Decide

India is probably one of the places where the principles of biodynamic farming, which began in Germany over 90 years ago, are still socially accepted and in practice. Biodynamic practices focus on planting and harvesting of crops according to a calendar based on the positions of the moon and stars. This relates well to the popular affinity for astrology in India. SARG Vikas Samiti has been promoting biodynamic agricultural practices in India with an affiliation with over 50,000 farmers. Biodynamic farming practices are being used to salvage damaged soil, with the intended outcome being improved crop yields. Can biodynamic farming practices help resolve Indian farmers’ agriculture woes? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/biodynamic-farming-in-india/

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed to work on an open Indo-Pacific region strategy with cooperation in infrastructure development and maritime security. The Japanese government will pump in more investment into high-quality railway and road network projects. Can a strategic alliance between Japan and India help in maintaining a stable regional balance of power, given the current stance of the US? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/india-and-japans-strategic-alliance/

A startup in India aims to sell cow based products. Based in Mumbai, Cowpathy uses ingredients such as manure, clarified butter (ghee) and urine among others to make consumer products with high medicinal properties. The company sells over 48,000 units of soaps that contain gooseberries, cow manure, lavender powder and orange peel. These are shipped out every month across 13 countries, including the US. Will the use of animal by-products revolutionize the consumer goods industry in time to come? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/cashing-in-on-the-cow-economy/

Quirky chai cafés in India like Chaayos are now replacing the dominance of Coffee shops like Starbucks, Barista and most notably Café Coffee Day. Established in 2012, Chaayos boasts of close to 40 stores and hopes to expand to 75 outlets by mid-2018. Owned by Sunshine Teahouse, Chaayos has opened stores in Delhi, Mumbai and Chandigarh. Bengaluru based Chaipoint and Mumbai based Tea-trails are the local competitors in the market. Unlike Chaipoint which has 94 stores so far, Chaayos invests in repeat customers. A 24/7 store in Gurugram and 7am stores to serve breakfast are their top-selling retail models. What brands and retail models will come to dominate India’s chai café industry? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/indias-novel-tea-cafe-industry/

Taking a cue from a Japanese bank – Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ – Indian banks plan to use robots with artificial intelligence. Kumbakonam-based City Union Bank launched India’s first robot on-site assistant, known as Lakshmi. The robot imitates human action, thereby reducing the response time to customers by up to 60% and improving accuracy tremendously. The bank became the first to deploy robots that can perform repetitive, high volume and time-consuming tasks, raising productivity and efficiency. Will artificial intelligence enable banks to use robots on a mass scale? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/indias-first-banking-robot/

India’s e-tailing industry has the potential to grow from USD0.6 billion in 2012 to USD76 billion by 2021 – more than a hundredfold in 10 years. What do firms need to know about e-tailing in India to ride this wave of growth? India’s e-tailing industry India’s e-commerce market is projected to reach USD20 billion by 2015. By 2021, the projected growth would be a hundredfold, from USD0.6 billion in 2012 to USD76 billion. India’s e-tailing sector is booming, dominated by start-ups with backing from venture capital funds and driven by the younger generation. The sector’s growth as well as the rise in number of Internet users in India is attracting established players to enter the e-commerce business. Why is e-commerce booming? India’s e-commerce market is set to reach USD6 billion in 2015 with scope for more growth due to the growing Internet user population and increased usage of mobile phones. Some of the key factors behind this growth include: Rise in Internet user

What do you do if you are an Indian who fancies a Gucci bag or eyes those red Jimmy Choo shoes? A trip abroad is not necessary when all these luxury brands are now accessible in India. Now that luxury spending in China and Japan is slowing down, big brands are eyeing the Indian luxury market, which continued to grow at 30 per cent in 2013 to reach USD8.5 billion. It is expected to hit USD14 billion by 2016. Is this just a fad or will India’s luxury sector continue to power ahead? India – The next hub for luxury? India accounts for close to one per cent of the global luxury market. India’s luxury market is far from insignificant. According to one report, it was worth USD7.6 billion in 2012 . This contrasts with a figure of USD 18.7 billion for China (from a different source), and a global market of USD 1.1 trillion for luxury goods and services. India accounts for close to one per cent of the global luxury market. Luxury sales are currently seeing a slow-down in China