According to media reports, the union administration intends to introduce an incentive programme later this year to promote the recycling of 24 essential minerals, such as cobalt and lithium. According to a media outlet, the sops can be in the form of production-linked incentives (PLI) or “subsidies on capital expenditure”. The plan aims to increase India’s capacity to recycle lithium-ion batteries and is expected to run for four to five years. The National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM), which has a total budget of INR 16,300 Cr, was approved by the Union Cabinet in January of this year. Accordingly, 24 minerals have been designated by the government as “critical” to achieving the nation’s net zero greenhouse gas emissions goals by 2070. Additionally, INR 1,500 Cr has been allocated by the mission to provide incentives for the establishment of recycling facilities. To uncover India’s vital mineral reserves, VL Kantha Rao, the secretary in the ministry of mines, made a pitch on April 8 for an exploration licence regime.
Empowering Private Entities
“Such a policy shift would shift the focus from passive ownership to active exploration,” Rao said at an event in New Delhi. He also added that the regime will “empower” private entities to conduct large-scale early-stage exploration for minerals like lithium and platinum group elements (PGEs), among others. Sanjay Lohiya, the ministry’s additional secretary, also affirmed that the government was committed to fostering an exploration ecosystem that was competitive, technologically advanced, and investment-friendly. The remarks take place when the Centre is making every effort to acquire vital minerals required for the switch to green energy. These metals, which are utilised in solar panels, semiconductors, cell phones, and electric vehicle (EV) batteries, are the fundamental components of contemporary technology.
Expanding India’s Capacity to Recycle Lithium-ion Batteries
The programme should contribute to increasing India’s annual lithium-ion battery recycling capacity from the present 75,000 metric tonnes. In February, the government eliminated customs duties on the trash and scrap of twelve essential materials, such as lithium-ion batteries and powdered lead, zinc, and cobalt, in an effort to increase availability. Some of these are necessary for the development of electric vehicles, which India is attempting to promote in order to lessen its dependency on fossil fuels. Although they only made about 2.5% of the 4.3 million cars sold in India in 2024, EV sales increased by 20% compared to just 5% for the entire auto industry. Due mostly to new launches, analysts predict that sales will quadruple to over 200,000 in 2025.
The Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) for central government employees will go into effect on April 1, 2025, according to a notification from the Pension Fund Regulatory Authority of India (PFRDA).This implies that central government workers who are now employed and covered by the National Pension Scheme (NPS) as well as newly hired workers on or after April 1, 2025, will be enrolled under UPS, a news outlet reported.
What UPS Offers?
Prior to superannuation, UPS guarantees government workers a pension equal to 50% of their average basic pay earned throughout the previous 12 months. Superannuation is the term used to describe a company’s pension plan, or the retirement plan that businesses provide to their workers. This allows tax benefit money to be deposited into each employee’s account until they reach retirement age.
Eligibility for UPS
In India, 23 lakh central government employees have access to the NPS and UPS choices. This does not, however, apply to workers who have been fired, removed from service, or quit. Starting on April 1, 2025, all central government employees can access the enrolment and claim forms online at Protean CRA’s official website. Submitting the forms in person is also an option for those who prefer.
The UPS, What’s the Latest Developments?
According to a report, the entire rate of guaranteed payment with the UPS is 50% of 12 months’ average basic pay just before superannuation for a minimum qualifying service of 25 years against a payout tied to market returns under the NPS. While the NPS went into effect on January 1, 2004, the UPS was approved by the Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on August 24, 2024. Employees must contribute 10% of their base pay and dearness allowance to the UPS, which is also contributory in nature. The central government, the employer, will contribute 18.5%. The market returns on that corpus, which is primarily invested in government debt, also affect the final payout.
How is UPS’ Guaranteed Payout Determined?
The Finance Ministry’s frequently asked questions provide specifics on how UPS calculates guaranteed payouts. Just prior to superannuation, the entire assured payout rate will be 50% of the average basic wage for 12 months. After at least 25 years of qualifying service, a full assured payout is due. If the qualifying service duration was less, a commensurate payment would be allowed. According to the standards set forth by the Finance Ministry, if superannuation occurs after ten years or more of qualifying service, a minimum guaranteed payout of INR 10,000 per month will be guaranteed, provided that contributions are credited on time and regularly and that no withdrawals are made. When an employee voluntarily retires after completing a minimum of 25 years of qualifying service, the guaranteed payout will start on the day the employee would have superannuated if he had stayed on the job.
The ‘Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana’ was initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as part of the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ initiative. In the post offices, numerous accounts of daughters up to the age of ten years have been opened. Additionally, in many villages, accounts of all eligible daughters have been opened, and they have been declared as complete Sukanya Samriddhi Gram. On the occasion of “International Daughter’s Day,” on September 22nd, the Postmaster General of the North Gujarat Region, Ahmedabad, Krishna Kumar Yadav, stated that around 500 villages in the North Gujarat region have been transformed into complete Sukanya Samriddhi Grams till date.
Through the post office in these areas, Sukanya accounts have been made for all of the girls who are eligible for the program and are up to ten years old. Not only that but in these areas, the postman will rush to any house where there is a notification of the birth of a daughter to open the Sukanya account for the newborn. With this action, which is taken towards the economic empowerment of daughters, more than 4.50 lakh accounts of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana have been opened in the post offices in the North Gujarat region, while 15.22 lakh accounts have been opened in the Gujarat circle. This information was provided by the Postmaster General. Through the implementation of campaigns in a variety of schools and Dak Chaupals in rural areas, all of the girls who are eligible for it are connected to it.
“Today, daughter’s empowerment is an imperative need in our society to foster equality, inclusivity, and progress. Namdev believes in the power of giving back to the community and making a positive impact on society. Our commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is not just about fulfilling obligations, but about creating a more equitable and inclusive society where daughters have equal opportunities and access to resources. We truly believe that “Everyone lives for themselves but living for others is the true way of life,” stated Jitendra Tanwar, Managing Director & CEO, Namdev Finvest.
Speaking about company’s CSR activity to empower girls, Tanwar said that company’s “Aaradhya” – Balika Shiksha Abhiyan aims to empower girls with essential life skills that capacitate them to choose for themselves a future of their choice. The key to empowerment is to have the confidence and ability to make independent decisions about one’s future. fir’s programme is designed to facilitate long-term, systemic change. Namdev believes that when girls are trained in crucial life skills, they are more effective in negotiating key life decisions, express their thoughts better, and are more assertive about their rights.
Dhirendra Pratap Singh, Co-founder and CEO, Milaan Foundation stated, “Started as a mere mandate of The Company Act of 2013 has now become a full-fledged social impact movement with businesses leading at the forefront of active investing in causes like financial inclusion of women, outcome-based skilling programmes, and a wide-range of scholarships and livelihood opportunities for women from severely underserved communities. This makes these girls not only the first-time learners but also and rather brilliantly the first-time earners of their communities, shifting the narrative of what women can achieve and do.”
“At Milaan Foundation, we exclusively focus on with and for adolescent girls through our flagship initiative, Girl Icon Program which enables them to create long-lasting change in their own communities. We have tied up with brilliant corporate and foundation giving teams like Sony Music, Echidna Giving, Reliance Foundation, Info Edge, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, Girl Rising among many prestigious others which will enable our nonprofit team to scale-up our programmes and create a deeper impact,” he added further.
How ‘Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana’ Operates?
In order to register a Sukanya Samriddhi account, females up to the age of 10 years old are required to pay a minimum of INR 250 at any post office. According to Yadav, the amount of money that can be deposited in a single fiscal year ranges from a minimum of INR 250 to a maximum of INR 1.5 lakh. Only 15 years from the account’s inception date will funds be required to be deposited in this programme.
When the daughter reaches the age of 18, she is eligible to withdraw 50 percent of the sum that was deposited into the account. After twenty-one years have passed since the account was opened, the entire amount can be withdrawn. At this time, the interest rate is 8.2 percent, and there is also a provision that allows for the amount that is deposited to be free from income tax considerations.
Giving Girl Child a Brighter Future
Additionally, according to the Postmaster General, the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is not just a means of investment, but it is also connected to the bright and prosperous future of daughters. Furthermore, the social features of this framework, in addition to the economic dimensions, are of great significance.
This sum will be reserved exclusively for the daughters, and it will be of great assistance to them in their pursuit of education, professional advancement, and marriage. Through the empowerment of daughters, this programme will also encourage the empowerment of women and the self-sufficiency of India in the future.
We all aspire to do something huge. Regardless of whether we are a student, a business professional, a startup founder, or an entrepreneur to be, our aspiration is what propelled us to greatness.
The Indian government also realized the importance of our aspirations and has launched the “ASPIRE” scheme. The naming of the scheme is also entirely significant, which refers to “A Scheme for Promotion of Innovation, Rural Industries and Entrepreneurship” when the acronym is expanded.
Coming under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India, the ASPIRE scheme was launched in 2015, and is aimed to help foster entrepreneurship. Like other innovative Government of India schemes that the Modi-led government has launched, the ASPIRE scheme also has a huge potential to improve the industrial sectors and bring in a period of growth for the country. Much like the growth of Indian startups and unicorn companies of India, which make interesting reads, the schemes of India, which strive to gear up for the new age, Atmanirbhar Bharat, shall also be known thoroughly. This is why StartupTalky has come up with this article that is solely dedicated to the ASPIRE scheme of the Indian government.
Furthermore, the scheme is also aimed to provide financial support to set up Livelihood Business Incubators (LBI) or Technology Business Incubators (TBI). The 3 main components of the ASPIRE scheme can be summed up:
TBI, or Technology Business Incubation – In this category, the ASPIRE scheme will help the incubators of technology tap into the potential technology-related ideas and innovations by utilizing the existing infrastructure and expertise that are available already with the incubators. TBI would encourage the growth of enterprises through the application of technology and innovation. Besides, it will also support economic development strategies for small business development. Also, the TBI incubators would foster growth in local economies and extend mechanisms for technology transfer.
Promotion of Startups via SIDBI referred to as the Small Industries Development Bank of India – SIDBI would usher in creative scalable ideas/innovations and strive to convert them into commercially viable enterprises. A fund of funds is also created under SIDBI, which it can utilize to invest in startups and other early enterprises, thereby converting such ideas/innovations. These investments would only be in the startups that belong to the rural/agro-based industries. There will be no investment for the companies that run on the basis of technology.
The ASPIRE scheme promotes innovation to further strengthen the competitiveness of the MSME sector
It strives to provide monetary aid, which can be utilized to buy plants and machinery other than land and infrastructure, or an amount of INR 100 lakhs, whichever is less.
It also aims to provide practical business experiences to the budding entrepreneurs
Eligibility for the ASPIRE Scheme
If you are wondering about “who are eligible for the ASPIRE government of India scheme?” then all the startups and the traditional enterprises are all in luck because are eligible to reap the benefit of the ASPIRE Yojana.
In the union budget of 2019 that was presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the government of India stated that around 80 livelihood businesses and up to 20 technology business incubators will be generating close to 75,000 skilled entrepreneurs in the agro-rural industry industries under the ASPIRE Scheme.
As soon as a company fills out an application for the ASPIRE scheme, it is sent to the committee of the ASPIRE Scheme that deals with such applications under the Ministry of MSME, which is entitled to provide support to any companies/startups who want to learn about the scheme.
Now, after a specific company/startup fulfills all the eligibility criteria for the ASPIRE scheme, the Ministry of the government of India which deals with these schemes proceeds with the general processes and offers all the benefits to the beneficiaries under the scheme.
The Goal of ASPIRE | What did the GOI Decide via ASPIRE Scheme?
Funding Allocation of ASPIRE
Under the ASPIRE scheme, the Government of India wanted to build 80 Livelihood business incubators via NSIC, KVIC or Coir Board, or any other institution/agency of the Central or State government on their own or via any of the agency or scheme. This is to be done with the sole aim of promoting innovation, and entrepreneurship and boosting the growth of the agro-industry.
How can Startups Reap the Benefits of the ASPIRE Scheme?
Both traditional enterprises and startups are eligible for the benefits under the ASPIRE scheme. Now, if you are also associated with enterprises and startups that are eligible for ASPIRE, then you should urge the company to send an application to the ASPIRE Scheme steering committee, which works under the Ministry of MSME. This committee will extend support in the overall policy, coordination, management, and more. It will first deal with the general process and would then percolate the benefits to the enterprises that fulfill the eligibility criteria.
Looking at the growth of startups and an increasing sense of passion among entrepreneurs, the Indian Government is trying to make as many efforts as possible to support them. Therefore, the ASPIRE Scheme is yet another initiative by the government of India to promote entrepreneurship and innovative startups in the agro-industry. The above article will help you understand the goals and objectives of the scheme, its eligibility criteria, and how startups can take advantage of it.
FAQs
When was ASPIRE Scheme launched and Why?
The ASPIRE scheme was launched in 2015 and is aimed to help foster entrepreneurship.
What does ASPIRE stand for?
ASPIRE stands for A Scheme for Promotion of Innovation, Rural Industries, and Entrepreneurship.
Which Government body controls ASPIRE scheme?
ASPIRE scheme falls under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India.
A wise man once said – ‘Good Marketing makes the company look smart, whereas Great Marketing makes the customers feel smart’.
Yes, the customers are definitely going smarter by the day, and all of this is not just led by the technological advancements and innovations that we are seeing globally, today’s industries, entrepreneurs and marketers also play a significant hand in it.
One of the best examples is India itself, which is the next big thing in terms of startups and entrepreneurs, who are growing each day, and that too with the aim of gearing the country ahead in the global canvas.
Entrepreneurship in India today is no longer a myth. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) India Report (21-22) entrepreneurship in India has noticeably expanded in the past few years. The Total Entrepreneurial Activity rate, which is the percentage of the adults who are starting up with or running a new business has increased from 5.3% in 2020 to 14.4% in 2021.
The Growing Penetration in Tier 2 and Tier 3 Markets!
Though the Tier 1 cities of India have always been the regions to pilot for the entrepreneurs and startup founders from across the world, the entrepreneurs of India are not simply satisfied with the penetration in the first-class cities of the country. They are focusing largely on Tier 2, Tier 3 cities, and beyond.
As per the recent census, India has registered a total of 4000+ towns, and only 8 cities among them are classified as Tier 1. So, it can easily be realised that a considerable section of the Indian population resides in Tier 2, Tier 3 cities and more.
The IT industry was one of the first to realise the potential of Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in India. This happened when they found that the Tier 1 cities have reached a saturation point. The startups of India have largely caught up with the changing trends. Besides, being geared up with the new-age Government of India schemes like Digital India, Startup India initiatives, and more, the Indian government has also joined forces with the status and entrepreneurs of today to gift India a golden future that the whole of India can enjoy!
20% of Indian startups belonged to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities of India in 2017
Only 20% of the startups came from the tier 2 and tier 3 cities of India when reported in 2017. This was a growth from 16% of the startups of India, which came from the tier 2 and tier 3 cities of India. These numbers rapidly rose up to become 50%, as per April 2022 reports.
The penetration of the Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets today is on a rise holding the hands of the unicorn startups of India and all other budding startups and promising ideators of the country.
Research conducted in 2019 pointed out that out of over 16,000 startups registered in India then, nearly half of them have their business centres in smaller Indian cities.
Why are the Startups and Entrepreneurs choosing Tier 2 and Tier 3 Markets of India?
Numerous industries and startup founders are looking to penetrate the Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets of India because of more than one reason. Some prominent ones are:
Growing competition in the Tier 1 cities
Lack of employment in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities
Gaining more audiences/customers in these cities
Improving the Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities
Expand their businesses
Affordability in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities
Support of the Indian government to start up in these cities
The growth of startups and startup initiatives in these smaller towns in India are not only proving to be effective for the startup founders and entrepreneurs. The Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities are also reaping significant benefits due to the advancements taking place there.
Advantages of Tier 2 and Tier 3 Cities with Growing Startups and Entrepreneurs’ Focus on Them:
Some of the major benefits that the Tier 2 and Tier cities of India are enjoying with the improvement of industries and markets for startups and other companies in India are:
Upliftment of the standards of living in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities
More income to the people living there
Access to quality goods and services
Improvement of facilities
A reduced movement to the Tier 1 cities
A reduced dependency on imports
It ultimately boils down to the marketers and entrepreneurs of the country, who would actually be there and advance the growth of the industries in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets of India.
Here are some of the glimpses of some major companies that includes the Indian unicorns, who have actually proved that the Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4 cities are marketable enough in these modern times:
DailyHunt
The business model of DailyHunt largely banks on the sharing of vernacular language content, a majority of which is spoken in tier 2, tier 3 cities, and beyond in India. So, though Dailyhunt is headquartered in a Tier 1 city, Bengaluru, the company focused on the other cities right from the start. Besides, its acquisition of companies like LocalPlay, a hyperlocal platform for video and news content, is also in line with its objective of boosting its hyperlocal presence in Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4 geographies of India along with cementing its present position as a leading local language content discovery platform.
Moj
Owned by Mohall Tech and headquartered in Bengaluru, Moj is an Indian video-sharing social networking platform that supports 15+ languages. Much like Dailyhunt, Moj’s business model also revolved around video content sharing in vernacular languages, which itself targetted the cities beyond the Tier 1 cities of India. Furthermore, the banning of the viral Chinese video sharing platform TikTok on June 29, 2020, also played an angel’s hand is lifting the platform up to help India emerge as an Aatmanirbhar country.
Did you know the downloads of the Moj app crossed 50K in Google Play Store in just 2 days?
Paytm
The Vijay Shekhar Sharma-founded fintech company that focuses on UPI payments and other services including banking, eCommerce services and more, is not only known to the Tier 1 cities but is famous beyond them as well.
Speaking on its penetration in tier 2 and 3 cities of India, Paytm revealed that around 50% of its userbase is from the smaller cities of India – Panipat, Rohtak, Pondicherry, Surat, Ranchi and more. This remarkable feedback that Paytm has pulled up is largely attributable to its multilingual app and the growing demand for easy UPI transactions, which are conveniently done via our phones, irrespective of their types.
Flipkart
Walmart-backed Flipkart is a leading ecommerce company, which not only cares for their customers in the Tier 1 cities of India. When last reported on June 17, 2021, Flipkart revealed that over 52% of its customers come from the tier II and beyond cities. This increase in penetration in Tier II, Tier III cities, and beyond has been a combined result of the promising opportunities that these cities have and the zeal to expand the reach of the company.
Cosmetics and Beauty Products Companies like Sugar Cosmetics, Nykaa and more
Gone are the days when cosmetics and beauty products and services were restricted to the Tier 1 cities of India. Beauty regimes are now a significant part of the daily routine and vocabulary of millennial women, regardless of where they hail from. With the rapid penetration of smartphones in the smaller cities today, the women in tier 2, tier 3, tier 4 cities, and beyond are not behind even by a step from their Tier 1 counterparts.
Reports revealed that over 15% of the occasional cosmetic users who belong to the secondary and tertiary cities have tried their first face primers, foundations, BB creams, and more in the past 2-3 years. The online beauty marketplaces like Sugar Cosmetics, Nykaa, and more have a large hand in it though, who have actually made shopping for cosmetics and beauty products, availing of beauty services, and more, easier by bringing them online. The Covid-19 pandemic breakout, along with bringing the great resignation, major recessions, economic breakdowns, layoffs, and more such calamities, has also helped industries and individuals grow in many ways. One of such benevolent effects of the coronavirus pandemic is that it ushered in a new period of work from home where the countries and the working professionals living in them learned about the potential of the internet and were more close to the things happening online. An inclination to purchase cosmetic products also increased this way.
To know how businesses market to their audience in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, StartupTalky reached out to entrepreneurs from diverse fields. Here’s what we got to know about how they market to people in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities:
Amit Nigam – COO & Executive Director, BANKIT
Amit Nigam – COO & Executive Director, BANKIT
BANKIT tries to reach the tier 2 and tier 3 segment of the audience through retailers who are already familiar with the customer and can reach them more effectively. This helps in overcoming the most common challenge that companies face while reaching consumers in Tier 2/3 areas: Gaining their trust.
Shalabh Upadhyay – Founder & CEO, NEWJ (New Emerging World of Journalism)
Shalabh Upadhyay – Founder & CEO, NEWJ
The future of online media will be defined by those who create content, produce stories in the language which the masses understand. And that’s what we precisely do at NEWJ. Within a short period of two years since inception, we have grown our regional network base to 12 languages (including English and Hindi). Our in-house data capabilities help us build predictive models on the content consumption patterns across social media. Our state-of-the-art tech architecture collates user consumption & computer vision data to derive insights and patterns on how a content piece will perform. This enables us to connect with and market our content effectively.
These cities are seeing increasing attention and fast infrastructural growth. You now have state-of-the-art warehouses coming up on what used to be farmland. When we create content for these audiences, we use our expertise to explain the process, i.e., what has to be done, along with why it has to be done-why keeping something chilled matters or why a bar code matters, why it’s important to be able to trace something. So you have to explain much more of the context.
Then there is language to consider that requires a constant feedback loop and intelligent design to ensure that the platform’s UI is flawless and simple without being simplistic.
Building presence in these markets requires a different approach as growth in awareness may be slow. As mentioned above we’re doing that via distribution partners which may include certain tech companies soon. CSR initiatives on behalf of certain trusted names in the logistics space have also allowed for our outreach to increase in these locations.
Sudha Anand – Founder, Swaas
Sudha Anand – Founder, Swaas
Social media like Facebook and Instagram are the best modes to reach to tier 2 & 3 customers, said Sudha Anand, Founder of Swaas.
Here are some of the points highlighted by the Founder of Teach My Lesson:
Clearly articulate the value offered in plain terms
Price solutions aptly. Price is often the proxy for quality, and solutions priced considerably lower than the benchmark are seen as not trust worthy
Leverage locally accomplished individuals to endorse the brand and build credibility. Related to this, use local micro-influencers and not mega influencers.
Make customer ratings and review visible and vocal; everyone relies on reviews
Deliver on the promise – the customer journey need an enjoyable yet straightforward. Under promising and overdelivering is better than vice versa
India is progressing, and customer expectations are high across tiers, ‘Chalta hai’ ab nahi ‘Chalta hai’
Thankfully, with the advancement of technology, Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities have proper access to the Internet today. With the campaigns that we run and the marketing we perform, it is easier to spread the word to our target audience regardless of their City-tiers.
Amit Agarwal – Founder & CEO, OckyPocky
Amit Agarwal – Founder & CEO, OckyPocky
With regards to the marketing approach in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, building local partnerships helps majorly to gain trust but we also focus on digital marketing and content marketing with a vernacular approach to find paying audience.
Raj N – Founder, Zaggle
Raj N – Founder, Zaggle
Brands need to innovate exclusively for rural consumers because the values and sensitivities of the rural audiences are a stark contrast to that of their urban counterparts.
Tanul Mishra – CEO, Afthonia Lab
Tanul Mishra – CEO, Afthonia Lab
The pandemic has resulted in a lot of changes on the ground. One of the most prominent of these is reverse migration and increased online buying in Tier 2 and 3 cities. On one hand, several kirana stores across cities and towns pivoted online, while on the other, many young professionals and graduates moved back to their towns driving rural consumption and demand. Established players like Flipkart and Amazon, through Samarth and Flipkart Wholesale and Prione respectively, are betting heavily on the rural entrepreneurship story.
The tier III environment is immensely different from tier I and II and therefore, communication to potential customers requires a specialized and integrated approach. Indian market is very diverse and demands regional connectivity. OTT (Over the top) players like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, ZEE5, etc., are expected to spend Rs. 150 crore this year. We can see the push that is given by global companies towards local languages to enter the market of Bharat. Similarly, fintech industry is also expected to provide local language support and focus on user interface which is seamless and intuitive to expand its user base.
Mahadev Srivatsa – VP of Marketing & Brand Strategy, Practically
Mahadev Srivatsa – VP of Marketing & Brand Strategy, Practically
Marketing is always audience-led and the strategy has to involve a mix of the best mediums through which one can reach relevant audiences. Considering the emphasis that Indians place on education, keeping respective market nuances aside, the core TG for Practically i.e parents of kids aged 11 to 17 and the kids themselves, exhibit the same need across markets, and that is ‘a need for innovative learning’. To reach out to them, in the COVID era, the most impactful mediums of marketing have been TV and Digital. In pre covid era, BTL activations in such markets have acted as a crucial support to the main campaign. Radio & Print (regional) can also be looked at to effectively drive awareness among these audiences & build credibility. The key is to understand the touch points of your product, study customer journey and effectively strategize marketing for this segment. The correct choice of medium matters the most.
Conclusion
From leveraging locally accomplished individuals to personalizing linguistic features, entrepreneurs are leaping well above their grounds to rightly market in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Hope their views gave you an insight into how to market in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
FAQs
What are tier 2 and tier 3 cities in India?
The Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3 cities and beyond are simply the classifications of the cities of the country on the basis of development. Hence, the most developed cities in India are the Tier 1 cities, then comes the Tier 2 cities, and so on.
What are some of the business ideas in tier 2 and tier 3 cities?
The tier 2 and tier 3 cities are growing with the increased absorption of the internet and the modern initiatives and schemes by the Government of India to improve the cities beyond the first-class cities in India. Here are some of the most promising business ideas for growth in tier 2, tier 3, and more cities of India:
Financial firm
Advertising company
Beauty salon
Grocery store
Consulting company
Real estate business
Food delivery company
Farms
Nurseries
Manufacturing units
Clothes business
Consultation company
Logistics company
What are some of the Indian companies that are focusing on the Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities of India?
Most of the companies today are focusing on the Tier 2, Tier 3 cities and beyond in India. Some of the most prominent companies that are encouraging customers from Tier 2 and tier 3 cities are Paytm, Moj, Flipkart, Dailyhunt, Nykaa, Sugar Cosmetics, and more.
Which industries are foraying into tier 2 and tier 3 cities in India?
There has been an increasing foray into the tier 2 and tier cities in India in the past few years. Some of the major industries that have already entered the tier 2, tier 3, and tier 4 markets in India are:
Gaming
Fintech
Real estate
UPI
Edtech
Entertainment
News
Fashion
Food delivery
Logistics
Crypto
How many startups have their reach to the cities beyond the tier 1 cities of India?
As per the recent survey results, out of all the startups thriving in the country at present, around 50% of them have their reach, their business centres, in the tier 2 cities and beyond in India.
