India's Cream: Drivers of Change(read Consumerism)

Okay, so this is my first post on this new blog I just started and let's hope this interests you and makes at least some sense. India, as all reading this would probably be knowing, is the second largest country in the world today(population wise) and even though it's still really poor, it is a massive market for Corporations worldwide. That is because even though as a percentage of the population, the people who're generally called the 'Indian Middle Class' in the media are still quite small, that still translates to tens of millions of people who now have substantial enough incomes to go around increasing the revenues of big MNCs.

But the truth is, this segment of the population that the average anglophone in India considers to be middle class(due to the influence of the media) is in fact, by and large, not really the true middle class. People who can afford to buy a Sedan, have a 3 BHK apartment in one of Delhi's suburbs(or in any other metro or even mid level city), afford to eat out at a fast food restaurant a couple of times a week are NOT the Middle Class. In fact, these people are essentially the top 2 to 3 per cent of the Population. But that still means at least 20 to 30 million people. Now, the real Middle Class itself also adds to the consumerist demand in a big way that drives up MNC revenues, but they nowhere near come to the level of this top 2 to 3 per cent of the population.

Now that I've explained to you(in a rather quick manner) that there is a very small percentage of population in India who have real consumerist Power, you might wonder why this is even important the future of this Country. Well, it's pretty simple, It is this 2 to 3 per cent of the population that is most exposed to foreign Ideologies and new ideas(largely Western) and it is this top 2 to 3 per cent that is disproportionately over-represented in almost any sphere in India that really matters. These are the people who control most of the Industries and most of the Services and these are the people who make up the top Bureaucratic, political and Military Brass. But it just not their economic prowess that binds this top 2 to 3 per cent of the population.

This Cream of the Indian Population is also largely Bilingual or even Trilingual, being, by and large, quite fluent in English. This Cream shares common ideals of Economic Prosperity and Liberalism, and increasingly, this Cream is also driven by Western Consumerism and thus it might be this segment of the population that drives India to become another Consumerist Giant in a few short decades.