Special Economy Zone in India – Lessons from China

In the late 1970s, the Indian and Chinese economies were comparable. The Chinese economy in the 1980s and 1990s cruised ahead of India, and today it finds itself at the top in all sectors against India except in software and knowledge-based products. Special Economy Zone is one of the backbones of the growth of the Chinese economy.

The journey of the Special Economy Zone in India started in year 2000 when Maran, then Commerce Minister, made a tour to the southern provinces of China and realized the importance of SEZ. On returning from the visit, he incorporated the SEZ into the Exim Policy of India and after five year, Special Economic Zones Act 2005 was introduced and in 2006 SEZ Rules was formulated. The formation of the Special Economic Zones Act was not the first initiative of its kind by Indian government. India was one of the first in Asia to recognize the effectiveness of the Export Processing Zone model in promoting exports, with Asia’s first EPZ set up in Kandla in 1965. The experiment with the Export Processing Zone did not do wonder with the Indian economy.

The government, economists, and entrepreneurs jointly studied the Chinese SEZ model. After through analysis of the Chinese SEZ model, they decided to start the SEZs in strategic locations close to port cities and economic centers.

Lessons from China’s SEZs
In 1979, China started four SEZs and after ten long years the fifth one was set up in 1988. The Chinese government analyse the trends of the first four SEZs and based on that they started the fifth SEZ.

The SEZs in China are located on the coastline near Hong Kong and Taiwan which are major economic centers in the region. A large chunk of the FDI was contributed by the non-resident Chinese from Hong Kong and Taiwan, who invested in labor intensive industries. The size of the SEZs has been an important factor in the success of China’s reforms process. Government of China has gone a step forward and declared the entire region or province as a SEZ. In china, cities along the sea coast, including Shanghai, were opened up for foreign investments and given a status comparable to SEZs. Moreover, the hire and fire policy has attracted foreign investors to invest in China’s SEZs. The flexible labor policy of China was the biggest attraction for the foreign investors.

India Go Forward
In current market scenario when the global manufacturing bases are shifting from the developed countries to the developing countries. The countries like India and China hold good future, primarily due to cheap factor prices and proximity to new markets. In the emerged scenario, the Indian SEZ can easily attract FDI in manufacturing provided they offer hassle-free environment for the investors and all necessary fiscal incentives. Indian SEZ can do wonders the way china had done in past. The Indian SEZ have to remember that the Chinese SEZ were large in size, attracted FDI from the nonresident Chinese, government offered attractive incentives. The Chinese government promoted SEZ with flexible labor laws, liberal customs procedures and decentralization of power to the local authorities.

Special Economic Zone in India

History of SEZ
In 1947 when India got independence at Puerto Rico industrialist and government was busy setting up world first industrial park. Ireland and Taiwan followed Puerto Rico in sixties and in eighties China bring the SEZ to the global map with its largest SEZ at the metropolis of Shenzhen.

India was one of the first in Asia to recognize the effectiveness of the Export Processing Zone model in promoting exports, with Asia’s first EPZ set up in Kandla in 1965. In 2000, after thirty-five years, Murlisone Maran, then Commerce Minister, made a tour to the southern provinces of China and realized the importance of SEZ. On returning from the visit, he incorporated the SEZ into the Exim Policy of India and after five year, Special Economic Zones Act 2005 was introduced and in 2006 SEZ Rules was formulated.

The main objectives of the SEZ Act include – generation of additional economic activity , promotion of exports of goods and services, promotion of investment from domestic and foreign sources, creation of employment opportunities, and development of infrastructure facilities.

Government initiative for SEZ
Indian government to instill confidence in investors and signal their commitment towards a stable SEZ worked on the Special Economic Zones Act. In May, 2005 the Special Economic Zones Act was passed by Parliament, which received Presidential assent on the 23rd of June, 2005.

The Special Economic Zones Act 2005, after extensive consultations, came into effect on 10th February, 2006. The Act offered drastic simplification of procedures on matters relating to central as well as state governments. The main objectives of the SEZ Act include generation of additional economic activity, promotion of exports of goods and services, promotion of investment from domestic and foreign sources, creation of employment opportunities, and development of infrastructure facilities. It is expected that the Special Economic Zones Act will trigger a large flow of foreign and domestic investment. Government offered various incentives to the companies in SEZ:
• Duty free import/domestic procurement of goods for development, operation and maintenance of SEZ units
• 100% Income Tax exemption on export income for SEZ units under Section 10AA of the Income Tax Act for first 5 years, 50% for next 5 years thereafter and 50% of the ploughed back export profit for next 5 years.
• Exemption from minimum alternate tax under section 115JB of the Income Tax Act.
• External commercial borrowing by SEZ units upto US $ 500 million in a year without any maturity restriction through recognized banking channels.
• Exemption from Central Sales Tax.
• Exemption from Service Tax.
• Single window clearance for Central and State level approvals.
• Exemption from State sales tax and other levies as extended by the respective State Governments.

The Special Economic Zones Act also offered major incentives and facilities to SEZ developers which include:
• Exemption from customs/excise duties for development of SEZs for authorized operations approved by the BOA.
• Income Tax exemption on income derived from the business of development of the SEZ in a block of 10 years in 15 years under Section 80-IAB of the Income Tax Act.
• Exemption from minimum alternate tax under Section 115 JB of the Income Tax Act.
• Exemption from dividend distribution tax under Section 115O of the Income Tax Act.
• Exemption from Central Sales Tax (CST).
• Exemption from Service Tax (Section 7, 26 and Second Schedule of the SEZ Act).

Apart from the above mentioned incentives the companies in SEZ require no license for import made under SEZ units. In the case of losses they are allowed to carry forward losses. The other advantages are
• No license required for import made under SEZ units.
• Duty free import or domestic procurement of goods for setting up of the SEZ units.
• Goods imported/procured locally are duty free and could be utilized over the approval period of 5 years.
• The SEZ unit is permitted to realize and repatriate to India the full export value of goods or software within a period of twelve months from the date of export.
• “Write-off” of unrealized export bills is permitted up to an annual limit of 5% of their average annual realization.
• No routine examination by Customs officials of export and import cargo.
• Setting up Off-shore Banking Units (OBU) allowed in SEZs.
• OBU’s allowed 100% income tax exemption on profit earned for three years and 50 % for next two years.
• Enhanced limit of Rs. 2.40 crores per annum allowed for managerial remuneration.
• Since SEZ units are considered as ‘public utility services’, no strikes would be allowed in such companies without giving the employer 6 weeks prior notice in addition to the other conditions mentioned in the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.

The advantages of the SEZ are evident from the investment, employment, exports and infrastructural developments additionally generated. In midst of all these advantages the SEZ also has its own set of disadvantages, which include
• Revenue losses because of the various tax exemptions and incentives.
• Many traders are interested in SEZ, so that they can acquire at cheap rates and create a land bank for themselves.
• The number of units applying for setting up EOU’s is not commensurate to the number of applications for setting up SEZ’s leading to a belief that this project may not match up to expectations.

The economist strongly believe that the benefits derived from the investments and additional economic activity in the SEZ and the employment generated thus will outweigh the tax exemptions and the losses on account of land acquisition.

Strategy as Simple Rules

Strategy as Simple Rules

I for long debated with friends and academicians that the management of new age companies in India like Future Group, Wipro, Infosys, Satyam had no strategic bent of mind. The only positive thing about the management of these companies was starting the respective business at right time which is no mean task. They utilized every opportunity in their growth path very well; they were highly flexible. I was not ready to accept the fact that they were genius, and they had strategy. The article – Strategy as Simple Rules – changed my views and I started respecting the management of these companies.

I always believed in the rule of simple and try and practice in my life. The believe was cemented when I read article ‘Strategy as Simple Rules’ written by Kathleen M. Eisenhardt, a professor of strategy and organization at Stanford University in California and Donald N. Sull, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School in Boston. A must read article for every business professional. The authors in the article advocate that when the business landscape was simple, companies could afford to have complex strategies. But now that business is so complex, they need to simplify. I strongly believe in the rule of simple. My profession doesn’t advocate it though.

The article talks about the success of Yahoo! – The company began as a catalog of Web sites, became a content aggregator, and eventually grew into a community of users. Yahoo today is a broad network of media, commerce, and communication services. The other internet success story like eBay, America Online, and Google, also rose to prominence by pursuing constantly evolving strategies in market spaces that were considered unattractive according to traditional measures. In Indian context I believe the companies which in recent past have seen tremendous growth like Ranbaxy, Future Group, Wipro, Infosys, and Satyam knowingly or unknowingly followed the rule of simple. They did not compartmentalize themselves in one single space and instead focused on growth. These Indian companies attained the current state of prominence by pursuing constantly evolving strategies in market spaces that were considered unattractive. Managers of these companies – both global and Indian identified the opportunity in the chaotic markets. They jump into chaotic markets, probe for opportunities, build on successful forays, and shift flexibly among opportunities as circumstances dictate. In the chaos they recognize the need for a few key strategic processes and a few simple rules.

I would request all management professionals to read this interesting article – Strategy as Simple Rules’ written by Kathleen M. Eisenhardt, and Donald N. Sull, published by harvard business review. Article is avilable at

Simple Rules, Summarized
How-to rules – They spell out key features of how a process is executed –“What makes our process unique?”
Boundary rules – They focus managers on which opportunities can be pursued and which are outside the pale.
Priority rules – They help managers rank the accepted opportunities.
Timing rules – They synchronize managers with the pace of emerging opportunities and other parts of the company.
Exit rules – They help managers decide when to pull out of yesterday’s opportunities.

Shah Rukh Khan The King of Endorsements

In 1993, Shah Rukh Khan first appeared in three ads for tea brand Brahmaputra. The ads heralded the arrival of Shah Rukh Khan as a brand endorser of some stature. The very next year, he ended up endorsing three more brands – Hero Puch, Cinthol and Mayur Suitings. The series of his hits not only established him as a super star of film industry but also positioned him as a bankable endorser.

In 1996 he was signed by cola giant Pepsi, which can be seen as the turning point of his endorsement career. Shah Rukh Khan since then, has endorsed Bagpiper, Hyundai Santro and i10, Top Ramen noodles, Jeanne Arthes, Clinic All Clear shampoo, Emami-Sona Chandi Chyawanprash, Lux, Omega, Airtel, Nokia, sunfeast, Compaq, Home Trade, Videocon to name a few.

The superstar Shah Rukh Khan has 34 brand endorsement deals for year 2008 which is down from 37 endorsement brand in year 2007. I believe that other celebrity like Hrithik Roshan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Akshay kumar have not shown great interest in the endorsement market. In the given scenario it is important to understand what makes him the most popular celebrity brand endorser around?

Shah Rukh Khan has been around for a long time, and has become a bankable name. He is the only one who has proved to be consistent for last fifteen years (since the release of his first movie in 1992). In recent past we have seen that the actors like Hrithik Roshan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Akshay kumar are also consistent and bankable name of the Indian film industry but they are not the corporate world darling. In my views corporate world not only look for these two factors there are something more than this. The other important factors are – corporate friendliness, image of celebrity, brand personality of celebrity.

Marketers claim that Shah Rukh Khan’s appeal cuts across age, gender, and class, and blends the characteristics that mirror multiple identities – the ordinary middle class guy who went on to became the King. The king is a traditional and family loving Indian.

The biggest plus about the actor Shah Rukh Khan is that he holds self-made man image. The common Indian man associates with him and aspires to become Shah Rukh Khan. In last few years Akshay kumar has also attained status of self-made man which is challenge to the king. The other plus about Shah Rukh Khan is his image of down-to-earth, approachable person and his ability of straddling the classes and the masses. He is not niche actor like Aamir, and not even a down market actor like Govinda. In this parameter also Akshay kumar has taken a lead. This new image of the Bollywood star Akshay kumar can be a threat to the Shah Rukh Khan’s endorsement kingdom.

The fact that Shah Rukh Khan has been so overexposed by advertising leaves little room for credibility among consumers. I can’t imagine Shah Rukh Khan driving Huandi Santro or i10 but the fact that the Shah Rukh Khan’s fans still associate him with the products is doing wonders for him.

Shah Rukh Khan The King of Endorsements

In 1993, Shah Rukh Khan first appeared in three ads for tea brand Brahmaputra. The ads heralded the arrival of Shah Rukh Khan as a brand endorser of some stature. The very next year, he ended up endorsing three more brands – Hero Puch, Cinthol and Mayur Suitings. The series of his hits not only established him as a super star of film industry but also positioned him as a bankable endorser.

In 1996 he was signed by cola giant Pepsi, which can be seen as the turning point of his endorsement career. Shah Rukh Khan since then, has endorsed Bagpiper, Hyundai Santro and i10, Top Ramen noodles, Jeanne Arthes, Clinic All Clear shampoo, Emami-Sona Chandi Chyawanprash, Lux, Omega, Airtel, Nokia, sunfeast, Compaq, Home Trade, Videocon to name a few.

The superstar Shah Rukh Khan has 34 brand endorsement deals for year 2008 which is down from 37 endorsement brand in year 2007. I believe that other celebrity like Hrithik Roshan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Akshay kumar have not shown great interest in the endorsement market. In the given scenario it is important to understand what makes him the most popular celebrity brand endorser around?

Shah Rukh Khan has been around for a long time, and has become a bankable name. He is the only one who has proved to be consistent for last fifteen years (since the release of his first movie in 1992). In recent past we have seen that the actors like Hrithik Roshan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Akshay kumar are also consistent and bankable name of the Indian film industry but they are not the corporate world darling. In my views corporate world not only look for these two factors there are something more than this. The other important factors are – corporate friendliness, image of celebrity, brand personality of celebrity.

Marketers claim that Shah Rukh Khan’s appeal cuts across age, gender, and class, and blends the characteristics that mirror multiple identities – the ordinary middle class guy who went on to became the King. The king is a traditional and family loving Indian.

The biggest plus about the actor Shah Rukh Khan is that he holds self-made man image. The common Indian man associates with him and aspires to become Shah Rukh Khan. In last few years Akshay kumar has also attained status of self-made man which is challenge to the king. The other plus about Shah Rukh Khan is his image of down-to-earth, approachable person and his ability of straddling the classes and the masses. He is not niche actor like Aamir, and not even a down market actor like Govinda. In this parameter also Akshay kumar has taken a lead. This new image of the Bollywood star Akshay kumar can be a threat to the Shah Rukh Khan’s endorsement kingdom.

The fact that Shah Rukh Khan has been so overexposed by advertising leaves little room for credibility among consumers. I can’t imagine Shah Rukh Khan driving Huandi Santro or i10 but the fact that the Shah Rukh Khan’s fans still associate him with the products is doing wonders for him.

Amitabh Bachchan – The Biggest Celebrity Endorser of All Time

The celebrities are super achievers like Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar, Shah Rukh Khan. The celebrity has a life cycle. Among all Indian celebrities, Amitabh Bachchan is an exception. He is beyond the normal life cycle of a celebrity in terms of endorsements. Amitabh Bachchan is popular with possibly all demographic, psychographic, geographic. He commands respect across the length and breadth of India, cutting across the barriers of age, income, region and language. Today he is not only one of the successful actors but also one of the most successful endorses. Having said this I must talk about the fact that during the first two-and-a-half decades of his acting career when he was called the one-man Hindi film industry never endorsed any product.

Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (Amitabh Harivansh Srivastav), born on October 11, 1942 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh is one of the most prominent Indian film actors of Bollywood. Amitabh Bachchan is known for his deep, baritone voice. He before entering the film industry applied for a job with All India Radio for the post of a news announcer, for which he was rejected – probably a destiny’s call. The actor also did Playback Singing for many Indian movies. The actor has also endorsed many brands and is one of the leading celebrity endorsers for Indian corporate world.

Birth of Endorser Amitabh Bachchan
In year 2000 Amitabh Bachchan, anchored Kaun Banega Crorepati (popularly known as KBC ) which positioned him into the league of the most expensive endorsers. The phenomenal success of KBC helped marketers realize that Amitabh Bachchan single-point attention-grabber. He is one Indian celebrity who could not only command attention but also lend his credibility status to the brands. He has been brand ambassador of products across industry and categories including Pepsi, Mirinda, ICICI Bank, Parker Pens, Reid & Taylor, Maruti Versa, Cadbury’s, Nerolac, Hajmola, Navratna tail, Emani Boroplus, Eveready, Dabur, Sahara city Home, D’damas, Binnani.
Amitabh Bachchan, before success of KBC had probably endorsed just one brand in mid nineties which was a corporate branding exercise for BPL. The campaign managed to position BPL as an aspirational Indian brand. After success of KBC he has endorsed brands in product categories as diverse as banking, soft drinks, batteries, paints, chocolates, automobiles, writing instruments, apparel, diet supplements, personal care and real estate.

Challenge for Endorser Amitabh Bachchan
It is believed that if the endorser is associated with many brands, exclusivity can no longer be associated with the celebrity. The audience gets confused when the same celebrity plugs many brands and hence the endorsement value gets eroded. In recent times, Amitabh Bachchan endorsement list has come down but he still endorses brands in double digits. And in my view most of his brands he endorses are doing good. I believe, if it was not Amitabh Bachchan the marketers would have been struggling with the ideas. Marketers can position Amitabh Bachchan as an action hero; an energizing personality; a jovial character; an advisor; a spokesperson; Mr. dependable and not to miss a passionate endorser – there is lot in Amitabh Bachchan which is unexplored. Having said this strongly advocate that marketers needs to use the celebrity power of Amitabh Bachchan judiciously.

Amitabh Bachchan – The Biggest Celebrity Endorser of All Time

The celebrities are super achievers like Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar, Shah Rukh Khan. The celebrity has a life cycle. Among all Indian celebrities, Amitabh Bachchan is an exception. He is beyond the normal life cycle of a celebrity in terms of endorsements. Amitabh Bachchan is popular with possibly all demographic, psychographic, geographic. He commands respect across the length and breadth of India, cutting across the barriers of age, income, region and language. Today he is not only one of the successful actors but also one of the most successful endorses. Having said this I must talk about the fact that during the first two-and-a-half decades of his acting career when he was called the one-man Hindi film industry never endorsed any product.

 

Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (Amitabh Harivansh Srivastav), born on October 11, 1942 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh is one of the most prominent Indian film actors of Bollywood. Amitabh Bachchan is known for his deep, baritone voice. He before entering the film industry applied for a job with All India Radio for the post of a news announcer, for which he was rejected – probably a destiny’s call. The actor also did Playback Singing for many Indian movies. The actor has also endorsed many brands and is one of the leading celebrity endorsers for Indian corporate world.

Birth of Endorser Amitabh Bachchan
In year 2000 Amitabh Bachchan, anchored Kaun Banega Crorepati (popularly known as KBC ) which positioned him into the league of the most expensive endorsers. The phenomenal success of KBC helped marketers realize that Amitabh Bachchan single-point attention-grabber. He is one Indian celebrity who could not only command attention but also lend his credibility status to the brands. He has been brand ambassador of products across industry and categories including Pepsi, Mirinda, ICICI Bank, Parker Pens, Reid & Taylor, Maruti Versa, Cadbury’s, Nerolac, Hajmola, Navratna tail, Emani Boroplus, Eveready, Dabur, Sahara city Home, D’damas, Binnani.
Amitabh Bachchan, before success of KBC had probably endorsed just one brand in mid nineties which was a corporate branding exercise for BPL. The campaign managed to position BPL as an aspirational Indian brand. After success of KBC he has endorsed brands in product categories as diverse as banking, soft drinks, batteries, paints, chocolates, automobiles, writing instruments, apparel, diet supplements, personal care and real estate.

Challenge for Endorser Amitabh Bachchan
It is believed that if the endorser is associated with many brands, exclusivity can no longer be associated with the celebrity. The audience gets confused when the same celebrity plugs many brands and hence the endorsement value gets eroded. In recent times, Amitabh Bachchan endorsement list has come down but he still endorses brands in double digits. And in my view most of his brands he endorses are doing good. I believe, if it was not Amitabh Bachchan the marketers would have been struggling with the ideas. Marketers can position Amitabh Bachchan as an action hero; an energizing personality; a jovial character; an advisor; a spokesperson; Mr. dependable and not to miss a passionate endorser – there is lot in Amitabh Bachchan which is unexplored. Having said this strongly advocate that marketers needs to use the celebrity power of Amitabh Bachchan judiciously.

Idea of Positioning and Differentiation

The two different books positioning and differentiation says the same thing. The book by Jack Trout on differentiation – Differentiate or Die is repackaging of his book coauthored with Al Ries on positioning – Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind. In my views when Jack Trout separated from Al Ries wrote Differentiate or Die to position Trout & Partners Ltd. Truly a positioning genius. I strongly believe that it hardly matters what you call the activity of buying share of consumer mind – positioning or differentiation you are doing same thing.

Brand managers across globe are busy differentiating their products or say working hard to position them. However, the major problems with most of the companies are that they don’t understand the concept of differentiation or positioning. In most of the cases they work on differentiation for the sake of differentiation. The situations in a few cases are so grim that some brand managers really don’t know the difference between a name and a brand. Addressing similar situation, Sergio Zyman, and Armin Brott says that If you don’t keep giving customers reasons to buy from you, they won’t. Awareness is absolutely worthless if it doesn’t lead to sales. In my views one can’t blame the brand manager solely for the problem. The problem of positioning also depends on the proliferation of me-too products. Today any company can come out with almost similar product that their competitors have within a few days.
The brand managers of successful brands take their brand for granted. They don’t work on them regularly and as a result the charisma of brand goes down. It is vital to remember that even the strongest brands don’t stay their way without working on them regularly. They need repositioning or for your convenience you may call it brand maintenance. The brand needs to be renewed or redefined constantly, else it will die.

The market analyst firm also correlate branding with the data analysis and ROI of marketing; and few other marketers believe that it’s advertising which position products. In my vies branding is not only about advertising and data analysis – it’s also about understanding how consumer lives are changing and how is it impacting consumer preferences. I believe branding is also about developing and implementing strategy which is grounded on a deep understanding of consumers that connects companies. Authors, Sergio Zyman, and Armin Brott in their book The End of Advertising as We Know It says that Advertising is a lot more than just television commercials – it includes branding, packaging, celebrity spokespersons, sponsorships, publicity, customer service, the way you treat your employees, and even the way your secretary answers the phone.

Idea of Positioning and Differentiation

The two different books positioning and differentiation says the same thing. The book by Jack Trout on differentiation – Differentiate or Die is repackaging of his book coauthored with Al Ries on positioning – Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind. In my views when Jack Trout separated from Al Ries wrote Differentiate or Die to position Trout & Partners Ltd. Truly a positioning genius. I strongly believe that it hardly matters what you call the activity of buying share of consumer mind – positioning or differentiation you are doing same thing.

Brand managers across globe are busy differentiating their products or say working hard to position them. However, the major problems with most of the companies are that they don’t understand the concept of differentiation or positioning. In most of the cases they work on differentiation for the sake of differentiation. The situations in a few cases are so grim that some brand managers really don’t know the difference between a name and a brand. Addressing similar situation, Sergio Zyman, and Armin Brott says that If you don’t keep giving customers reasons to buy from you, they won’t. Awareness is absolutely worthless if it doesn’t lead to sales. In my views one can’t blame the brand manager solely for the problem. The problem of positioning also depends on the proliferation of me-too products. Today any company can come out with almost similar product that their competitors have within a few days.
The brand managers of successful brands take their brand for granted. They don’t work on them regularly and as a result the charisma of brand goes down. It is vital to remember that even the strongest brands don’t stay their way without working on them regularly. They need repositioning or for your convenience you may call it brand maintenance. The brand needs to be renewed or redefined constantly, else it will die.

The market analyst firm also correlate branding with the data analysis and ROI of marketing; and few other marketers believe that it’s advertising which position products. In my vies branding is not only about advertising and data analysis – it’s also about understanding how consumer lives are changing and how is it impacting consumer preferences. I believe branding is also about developing and implementing strategy which is grounded on a deep understanding of consumers that connects companies. Authors, Sergio Zyman, and Armin Brott in their book The End of Advertising as We Know It says that Advertising is a lot more than just television commercials – it includes branding, packaging, celebrity spokespersons, sponsorships, publicity, customer service, the way you treat your employees, and even the way your secretary answers the phone.

Celebrity endorsement – Cricketer’s loss is Bollywood’s gain

Bollywood Rising

The cricket celebrity brand endorsement is declining. The number of brands endorsed by Sachin Tendulkar has dropped from ten to six over a period of five years, Rahul Dravid endorsement list has come down to six from twelve and Sourav Ganguly is endorsing barely has a couple of brands today. The only exceptions among cricket celebrity are MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, who have grown their endorsements year-on-year. at the same time the film industry has gain importance in recent years. The silver screen celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan, Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham are few of the celebrity who has gained prominence in recent years.

Shah Rukh Khan’s endorsements have gone up from 6 to 18 in the same period, Hrithik Roshan’s have increased from 1 to 11 and Saif Ali Khan’s deals have doubled from 4 in 2003 to 8 now. Amitabh Bachchan, who has gone down the power list in the last two years, has managed 10 endorsements deals. Other Bollywood stars like Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham have between 3 and 7 deals in their pockets.

Cricketers were the favorites of PepsiCo till last year has signed up movie stars including Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif.

Among women celebrities Kareena Kapoor endorsement count has gone up from two to five, while the number of brands Katrina Kaif, Kajol, Priyanka Chopra and Bipasha Basu endorse has risen from almost nil to about six to seven each. The new celebrity such as Deepika Padukone and Vidya Balan are endorsing three to four brands each. The new celebrities are in demand and they are expected to sign a few more. The best part about the silver screen is that the senior actors like Hema Malini and Juhi Chawla have multiple endorsement deals.