The Appeal of India and the Potential of Events

Hello, I’m Aketo Yanase.

At GLOBAL PRODUCE, we have recently been fortunate to see a gradual increase in inquiries from overseas. While our core focus remains event production in Japan, we are also finding more opportunities to engage with international companies and organizations with operations abroad. That shift feels emblematic of a changing era and of the new possibilities now emerging around us.

One inquiry in particular left a strong impression on me. It came from a life insurance company with an Indian branch office. As I reviewed the materials and videos they shared, what stayed with me most was the atmosphere: participants dancing joyfully, the venue filled with energy, warmth, and a remarkable sense of unity. The emotional openness, celebratory spirit, and sheer vitality of the gathering revealed a dimension of event culture quite different from what we typically encounter in Japan’s business event landscape. It reminded me, once again, of the depth and richness of India as a country.

I studied International Relations at university, with a particular focus on India’s politics, economy, and Indo-Pacific strategy. At that time, I viewed India largely through a macro lens, as a subject of security, diplomacy, and economic growth. Yet encountering India through my work has led me to feel that its appeal cannot be fully understood through data or strategy alone. The energy of its people, the diversity of its values, and the dynamic coexistence of tradition and innovation may, in fact, be at the very heart of what makes India so compelling.

Reading India’s Ambition: Population, Economy, and Diplomacy – The Reality of a Rapidly Growing Great Power gave me an opportunity to revisit both the appeal and the complexity of the country. More importantly, it reminded me that this is not simply a matter of international affairs. It is also deeply relevant to the work we do in events.

In this article, I would like to reflect on the realities of India presented in the book, while considering what they might mean from the perspective of the event industry.

A Country Where Tradition and Technology Advance Side by Side

One of the book’s earliest observations is the rapid rise of matchmaking apps in India. Arranged marriage remains deeply rooted, and traditional social values continue to shape everyday life. At the same time, however, the widespread adoption of smartphones has accelerated entirely new forms of connection. I found this pattern deeply significant: new technology taking hold not by replacing older structures, but by layering itself onto them.

As the book suggests, India is a place where leapfrogging often occurs. The rapid spread of mobile payments is a clear example. Demonetization, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the development of Aadhaar all converged to drive dramatic expansion in the use of digital financial infrastructure.

Events as One of the Earliest Mirrors of Social Change

These shifts also offer important insight for the event industry. Events are often among the first places where social change becomes visible. Consumer behavior, corporate confidence, government policy, the adoption of new technologies, and changes in social values all tend to surface quickly in the form of exhibitions, conferences, incentive programs, promotional activations, and community gatherings.

For that reason, it is not enough to look at India only through broad indicators such as population size or GDP growth. What matters just as much is understanding how people gather, what they respond to, and what kinds of experiences they find meaningful.

Diversity as Both Challenge and Advantage

One of the most striking themes in the book is the idea that India’s diversity is both a challenge for business and one of its greatest strengths. Even food culture varies dramatically between north and south. Vegetarianism is widespread, and in some states alcohol consumption is restricted.

For Japanese companies expanding into India, localization often requires far more than translation or pricing adjustments. In many cases, it means rethinking the product itself. CoCo Ichibanya developing India-specific menu offerings, Nissin Foods adapting spice levels and portion sizes, and Kikkoman aligning products with the distinctive “Indo-Chinese” culinary tradition are all telling examples.

In Event Design, the Question Is Not “For India,” but “For Whom?”

The same principle applies directly to events. One common mistake when planning India-related business events is to approach the audience as though “India” were a single, unified market. In reality, it is far closer to a constellation of markets. Language, religion, dietary customs, regional identity, disposable income, urban-rural divides, and degrees of international exposure vary significantly.

As a result, planning, creative direction, and on-site operations cannot simply rely on importing a format that has worked well in Japan. What is required instead is a far more precise understanding of who the event is truly for.

Even within a single conference in India, communication design will differ depending on whether the audience is made up of government stakeholders, urban startup communities, manufacturing partners, university students, or young engineers. Language choice, registration flow, catering, religious considerations, transport planning, gifts, networking formats, and entertainment all require thoughtful localization.

An event may appear to last only a day, but in reality, its quality is shaped by the depth of understanding behind it.

Industrial Growth Naturally Generates Event Demand

I was also struck by how closely India’s industrial transformation connects to the future of the event business. Sectors such as renewable energy, electric vehicles, semiconductors, and digital payments are not simply headline industries. They are also likely to become drivers of future international event demand.

As companies expand into the market, they generate a wide range of B2B event needs: kickoffs, partner meetings, exhibition participation, internal engagement initiatives, award programs, recruitment events, and media-facing announcements. In that sense, reading India’s industrial growth is also a way of reading the map of future event demand.

Semiconductors, Renewables, and EVs as Signals of New Possibilities

The semiconductor sector, in particular, deserves close attention. India is strengthening its efforts to attract semiconductor-related investment from the standpoint of both job creation and economic security. At the same time, its importance is rising within the broader context of U.S.-China tensions and global supply chain realignment. For Japanese companies, this is not a shift that can be ignored.

The development of semiconductor plants and related facilities is not only a major industrial investment. It also creates moments of communication involving local authorities, overseas headquarters, partner companies, and the media. In such contexts, events serve a role that extends well beyond ceremony. They become a platform that connects national strategy with corporate strategy.

The Meaning of Events in the Indo-Pacific Context

From a diplomatic standpoint as well, India’s strategic importance is only set to grow. In the Indo-Pacific, India is not merely a country of immense population and economic scale. It is also a geopolitical actor with sufficient weight to shape the regional balance alongside and against China.

For Japan, India is both a promising market and a strategic partner. That gives India-related events a significance that goes beyond sales opportunities alone. As platforms for economic cooperation, people-to-people exchange, technological collaboration, and cultural communication, such events are likely to become even more important in the years ahead.

The Limits of Understanding Growth Through Numbers Alone

One of the clearest impressions this book left on me is that numbers alone are not enough to truly understand India’s growth. Population growth does not simply mean a larger market. It also means expanding values, preferences, employment challenges, urban pressures, and energy demand. Economic growth does not merely imply rising incomes. It also brings a growing middle class and more intense competition. Greater diplomatic influence means that domestic developments increasingly carry implications for the international order.

India, in other words, is growing together with all of its complexity.

Turning Complexity into a Starting Point for Planning

For those of us working in events, that complexity is not merely a risk to manage. It is also a starting point for better planning. What matters is not superficial cultural awareness, but a deeper understanding of social structure, industrial policy, regional distinctions, and everyday consumer sensibilities. That understanding must then be translated into space, creative direction, content, flow design, and hospitality.

This, to me, is where the essence of global events truly lies.

India as a Country That Anticipates the Future

India is one of the countries already offering a glimpse of the world to come. Population growth, urbanization, digital transformation, energy transition, manufacturing realignment, and rising geopolitical influence are all reshaping the way companies operate and communicate.

Events, in turn, are one of the industries that receive these shifts most directly and give them form in the real world.

Conclusion

To understand India is not simply to understand one nation. It is also to think about how companies will connect with people, build trust, and create shared momentum in the years ahead.

This book offers not only a portrait of India’s ambition, but also a valuable lens through which to consider the future possibilities of business and events.