cCann- Erickson recently did a study of the extent to which people in the SEC C, D and E categories are a part of the waves of consumerism in metro and class one towns in India. This segment is currently residing on the peripheries of consumption, dipping its toes occasionally in the running waters of a new India. In the days to come, it is going to emerge as an important consumer segment of the new India.

The members of this segment watch it all from the opposite side of the road, from the crooked windows of their slums and jhuggis, nestling side-by-side with the shining skyscrapers where the neo-monied middle class competes with each other to flaunt its wallet power. The former provide the labour; they set up shops to make available the essential supply and maintenance chains that ensure the smooth running of the lives of the middle and upper middle class. But they themselves live problem-ridden lives, seldom honoured at their workplace and unknown in their habitats. They worry constantly about their employment and housing, their family's mounting medical bills, their children's education and life after retirement.... more