Dear Members,

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the 91st Annual General Meeting of your Industry Association: IBHA.

The Indian Economy and our Consumers

We are living in interesting times, so much has happened with our country and its economy.

And so much more is yet to happen!

While the core strength of our country is long-term stability and political continuity, please allow me to mention certain new developments that impact positively on our industry and our consumers:

The income tax slab relaxations effective since February 2025.

1. Indian GDP growth in Q1 of 2025-26 has surprised even the forecasters, with a high of 7.8%, within which we have both manufacturing and services growing >7.5% and consumer expenditure at 7%.
2. India now hosts 1800 Global Capability Centers that employ 2 million highly skilled young professionals covering GenAI, cybersecurity, R&D, etc. These are amongst our new potential consumers – upwardly mobile and internationally integrated.
3. And what’s more, the GCC operations have expanded beyond major metros to cities like Kochi, Coimbatore, and Indore.
4. Last but not the least, the big bang of 4th September, the GST rate rationalization and reduction, leading to lower consumer prices, which will give a boost to consumption over a sustainable period.

However along with this above positive news, challenges remain:

1. The recent 50% tariff on Indian exports to USA will slow growth.
2. Our cities are a transport nightmare, and the suboptimal retail experience is a drag on the purchase of new products by consumers.

IBHA

Moving onto IBHA, let me start by thanking and congratulating the following:

• My fellow executive committee members for your excellent contributions through your advice, leadership and support on our agenda and priorities. Thanks to your inputs, our thought leadership, our credibility and the quality of our representations have been top-notch. Secondly, you have also provided your organizations’ experts in our working committees.
• Congratulations to our working committees – Technical, Legal, Anticounterfeit and Ayush – you are our very backbone.
• Our Director General, Malathi – you have now earned deep credibility with the government authorities due to your knowledge and tenacity.

Together as a team, we have achieved many great things – I am listing 6:

1. Sunscreen standards for India.
2. Decriminalization of offenses (Bill in parliament).
3. Asked by Economic Advisory Council of India to present a draft of the Cosmetics Bill for study.
4. Revocation of AYUSH Rule 170, meaning Advertisements can be aired without approval.
5. GST rate reduction from 18% to 5% on many items – we have been making submissions since the last year.
6. Digital thought leadership, our LinkedIn page followers have doubled in a year from 2000 to 4000, with 4 million total impressions and over 10,000 unique website visitors, through impactful posts.

However much remains to be done as follows and I will list 5 as an example:

1. The Separate Cosmetics Act
2. The 5% GST list of products need to be clarified by the authorities
3. Speedy approvals and renewals for both imported products and locally made products
4. Claims
5. QR code for packaging

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are more opportunities than challenges.

I would encourage our teams to push for ambitious outcomes and faster results by continuing to demonstrate their Courage, Confidence, and Resilience.

While we aim to shape regulations that promote innovation and safety, we should also minimize our environmental footprint and promote ethical practices at all levels.

Thank you!