o, Indian marketers are not doing enough. Reason: No vision. No single-minded interest in doing things for women, and Indian women in particular. For Indian companies, making products specifically for women is not a justified investment because the returns would be low given that they cannot produce in bulk due to paucity of money. As for MNCs, they are much too involved in pushing global products into the Indian market, which is intrinsically different from the Western ones. They do not realise the need to tweak their products to suit Indian needs. These companies need to have a programme to develop solutions for Indian women.

Take refrigerators, for instance. We do not have access to 24-hour electricity. Hence the need for a battery-operated fridge. Electrolux, for example, introduced Bijli, a battery operated refrigerator. But such innovations are rare. MNCs must work towards realising the distinct needs of the Indian woman - who is primarily a housewife (needs to be entertained while working), cooks fresh food everyday (doesn�t need big freezers), deep fries her food (needs a microwave that allows deep frying) and is primarily a vegetarian (her refrigerator needs a lot of space for veggies).... more