CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER As consumers in today’s world, some of us have a wide choice of goods and services before us. The latest models of digital cameras, mobile phones and televisions made by the leading manufacturers of the world are within our reach. Every season, new models of automobiles can be seen on Indian roads. Gone are the days when Ambassador and Fiat were the only cars on Indian roads. Today, Indians are buying cars produced by nearly all the top companies in the world. A similar explosion of brands can be seen for many other goods: from shirts to televisions to processed fruit juices. Such wide-ranging choice of goods in our markets is a relatively recent phenomenon. You wouldn’t have found such a wide variety of goods in Indian markets even two decades back. In a matter of years, our markets have been transformed! How do we understand these rapid transformations? What are the factors that are bringing about these changes? And, how are these changes affecting the lives of the people? We shall dwell on these questions in this chapter.