Almost 15 years ago, as Victoria’s Minister for Industry and Trade, I wrote to the then Premier about the need to establish a strategic relationship with India.

For two places with so much in common, I was sure there were untapped opportunities we needed to explore.

While I can’t take full credit for the idea – the benefits of better engagement with India spoke for themselves – it was the beginning of a new chapter in our partnership.

Since then, that partnership has gone from strength to strength.

Victoria is now home to the largest Indian-born community in Australia – a community that makes our state stronger, smarter, better and brighter.

And the bonds between our two regions have grown even stronger, too.

We are proud to be a key trade and investment partner with India – from food and fibre, to education and innovation.

And every year, our ties grow as we welcome more students, visitors and businesses from India to our state.

Our Government released Victoria’s most recent India Strategy in 2018. And while we’ve achieved much since then, the world has changed just as rapidly.

With this new Strategy, we chart new horizons, envision new opportunities and strengthen our partnership in an ever-evolving world.

Importantly, it’s a strategy that is grounded in partnership. We have worked with our partners – both in Victoria and India – to make sure it delivers the right outcomes for both our regions.

This is our roadmap to shared prosperity.

Our partnership spans the distance of more than 9,000 kilometres, but we’ve never been closer.

Hon. Jacinta Allan MP

Premier of Victoria

I warmly welcome this update to Victoria’s India Strategy: Our Shared Future.

The growth we have seen in the India-Australia bilateral relationship since Victoria released its India Strategy in 2018 is phenomenal. In that time, India and Australia have signed an Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, over twenty Australian ministers have visited India, and more than fifteen Indian ministers have visited Australia. This level of engagement speaks to the priority our country places on this relationship, and our vision to strengthen those ties even further.

Economic complementarity is at the heart of the Australia-India partnership. This congruence between our economies is driving growth across a range of sectors. Victoria is central to this story.

Victoria is home to Australia’s largest Indian diaspora, from across the length and breadth of India. In 2023, Victoria was the destination for over 70 per cent of India’s total Foreign Direct Investment into Australia. Victoria’s education sector continues to respond to the growing number of Indian students seeking high quality internationally recognised qualifications. Victoria is also the host of institutions – like the Australia-India Institute – that are central to deepening our economic, political and cultural connections with India.

This update is an opportunity to harness this momentum and identify how we can channel it to have the greatest impact. I commend the Government of Victoria on its commitment to deepening relations with India and look forward to working with you on the implementation of this updated strategy.

His Excellency Mr Philip Green OAM

High Commissioner to India

Victoria and India share a special relationship, one that has been built through cooperation and shared values.

The relationship has evolved and strengthened since the release of Victoria’s India Strategy: Our Shared Future in 2018. Creating a vibrant and mutually beneficial relationship with India remains a Victorian priority, as our economies and societies continue to complement each other. India is one of Victoria’s biggest trade partners with two-way merchandise trade between India and Victoria reaching almost $3.7 billion in FY2023-24. Victoria is also home to the largest Indian diaspora in Australia, accounting for 38 per cent of the Australian total.

It is these strong people-to-people ties that form the bedrock of our relationship. We both share a love for good food and sport and have long cultivated complementary sectoral strengths and interests.

There have been a great many successes built from the 2018 Strategy, including increased student numbers, a host of creative events that grow in popularity, and enhanced collaboration in the innovation ecosystem, food and agribusiness, and tourism and visitor economy sectors.

But, the world has changed since 2018.

Our domestic priorities have shifted, and global events have shaped bilateral relationships. To further build on our connection and enhance cooperation, we are refreshing Victoria’s India Strategy. It is our vision to ensure Victoria and India continue to share a deep and genuine connection across our economies and societies and achieve joint prosperity.

Victoria’s India Strategy: Our Shared Future 2025-30 therefore adjusts our focus for the next five years as we look to boost cooperation with India across strategically important sectors and states.

We have set out three objectives that we will target over the next five years. Firstly, we aim to strengthen our connections for a meaningful and inclusive relationship with India. Secondly, we want to enhance our strategic economic cooperation for mutual prosperity. Thirdly, we are committed to deepening our education, innovation and technology ties for a vibrant knowledge economy.

Since 2018, we have identified where we have strengths in our network and have since refined our focus to those areas where we have established advantages – in high quality food and fibre, in the strength of our educational institutions and services, our digital and tech talent, and in the tourism offerings of our cities and regions.

But there is also more to be done to progress growing areas of interest as both Victoria and India look to continue to grow the connections between our creative and sport industries, and to partner together to solve sustainability challenges. We also need to develop highly skilled workers, networks and industries to grow a manufacturing sector that is flexible, digital, and builds on Victoria's strengths in research and innovation.

Our vision is to further connect Victoria and India - state-to-state and person to person.

Our vision

Our mission

Our strategic practice

Since the release of Victoria’s India Strategy: Our Shared Future (the 2018 Strategy) the Victoria-India relationship has gone from strength to strength – but there is potential for it to reach even greater heights.

The 2018 Strategy provided opportunities to strengthen our partnership, from collaboration across international education, food and fibre, and sustainability, to building a knowledge economy and boosting bilateral trade and investment. Victoria has established strong connections with India and demonstrated how we can work with industry through government partnerships. This strategy outlines a deliberate and contemporary approach for a targeted and mutually beneficial partnership between India and Victoria.

Our world has changed since 2018

Since the 2018 Strategy, the Victorian Government has sharpened our thinking across several priority sectors, including through the Climate Change Strategy; Creative State Strategy 2025; ‘Made in Victoria 2030: Manufacturing Statement’; Victoria’s International Education Recovery Plan 2025 and the Gender Equality Strategy. Achieving Victoria’s nation leading ambitions on climate action and energy transition, housing, and gender equality will require work with domestic and international partners.

India became the world’s most populous country in 2023 and is expected to become the world’s third largest economy by 2030. Since 2010, India’s Gross Domestic Product has more than doubled, reaching more than $5.2 trillion in 2023. Its growing middle class and increasingly urbanised and highly educated population is fuelling consumer spending, while its innovative businesses are stimulating investment and technological development at pace. Victoria’s complementary strengths and strong ties between our people position us well to be a partner in this growth.

Deeper engagement at the national and regional level in recent years will also allow Victoria to unlock new opportunities. In 2020, Australia and India upgraded their bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP), and discussions for future cooperation have centred on areas such as advanced manufacturing, sustainability, education and skills, diaspora relations, sports, creative industries, and others. In December 2022, the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA) entered into force, significantly reducing tariffs on agricultural products and opening opportunities for more Victorian exports. These developments are expected to create opportunities for both Victorian and Indian businesses and service providers.

Built on the solid foundation of the 2018 Strategy, this refresh aims to further develop the Victoria-India relationship to ensure businesses and communities are supported to achieve their potential for years to come.

Victoria’s commitment to gender equality

Victoria leads the nation in progressing gender equality, and Our Equal State: Victoria’s Gender Equality Strategy and Action Plan 2023-2027 represents a significant step forward in this critical work.

Victoria is proud to be the first and only jurisdiction in Australia to have enshrined public sector gender equality in legislation through the Gender Equality Act 2020, demonstrating our commitment to systemic and structural reform.

Victoria is committed to embedding the guiding principles of Our Equal State into the Victoria-India relationship. We will support the implementation of structural and cultural change, inclusion, diversity and accessibility, and Aboriginal self-determination to ensure gender equality remains a priority.

This complements India’s implementation of a suite of initiatives designed to improve gender equality. The 2023 Women’s Reservation Bill aims to increase the number of women in national and state parliaments. Aligning with this intent, the Gender Advancement for Transforming Institutions Project promotes gender equity in science and technology and government loan programs.

As part of this refreshed strategy, we will build on our successes promoting gender equality together. In 2020, for example, the Global Victoria Women (GVw) initiative led an all-women inbound trade mission, with 16 out of 60 international female leader delegates from India. Victorian trade activities have been strong in women-led industries including DIDAC, Asia’s largest education technology exhibition, and Cosmoprof India, South Asia’s largest beauty and wellness trade show.

The Victorian Government has also funded initiatives focused on gender equality in the education sector. Future Forte, a gender equity initiative for international students, and STEM Sisters, a community dedicated to empowering women of colour in STEM have set the scene for the next generation of global woman leaders to succeed. Similarly, the Department of Education’s Women in School Leadership (WISL) program empowered exemplary school principals from Victoria and India to explore issues like student and staff mental health and wellbeing. The program increased intercultural capabilities and allowed principals to develop strong professional relationships while growing as leaders.

Building on these initiatives the Victorian Government is conducting Gender Impact Assessments on any new policy, programs and services that have a direct and significant impact on the public. Over the next five years, Victoria is eager to enhance our shared gender equality commitment and Panel Pledge.

Victoria is proud to be home to the largest Indian diaspora in Australia, with over 258,000 Victorians born in India at the 2021 Census, and many more claiming Indian ancestry.

Victorians are united by our shared love of good food, sport and celebrations - and the diverse Indian diaspora across our state is a big part of that. We are proud to see how Victorians have embraced Indian culture, which is clear from the success of events including the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, the first in Australia, and the annual Festival of Diwali at Federation Square.

It is not just Victoria’s capital, Melbourne, that has embraced the Indian diaspora. Our regions, particularly Bendigo and Geelong, have growing Indian communities with Indian events becoming a fixture in local calendars. The Victorian Government recognises the valuable contributions the Indian diaspora is adding to our local societies and economies, and will keep building community connections, engagement and collaboration.

India and Victoria have shared ambitions for high-quality education and meaningful work for the next generation. Our economies are complementary, with ample opportunities to leverage each other's skills, strengths and expertise to create mutual prosperity.

With the largest population and the fifth-largest economy in the world, India is rapidly growing. And Victoria can proudly support India in its journey, particularly in key sectors such as pharmaceuticals, technology, and manufacturing.

Victoria is the second-largest economy in Australia, and our strong and diverse industries, including food and agribusiness, education, healthcare, manufacturing and technology, represent opportunities to engage with Indian partners.

Objective 1: Strengthen connections for a meaningful and inclusive relationship

We are determined to continue promoting and celebrating the unique connections we have built for a long-term, inclusive and meaningful relationship between Victoria and India.

The contribution of the Indian community to Victoria’s society and economy is clear from its strong representation in business and entrepreneurship, community, universities, and research institutions and in community leadership roles.

Victoria is home to Indian diaspora-owned businesses operating across health, financial services, education and other sectors of the economy.

The Connecting Schools with Indian Communities (CSIC) program supports Victorian primary and secondary schools to engage the Indian diaspora and develop students’ understanding of the contributions the diaspora makes to our State.

Nearly 9,000 students in Victorian schools are studying an Indian language with the Victorian Government committing $3.5 million in the 2023-24 State Budget to establish three beacon schools to teach Hindi and Punjabi in Melbourne’s west, north and south-eastern suburbs. These schools will offer high quality learning in Hindi and Punjabi while serving as system leaders in these languages.

Objective 2: Enhance strategic economic cooperation for the mutual prosperity of India and Victoria

The 2018 Strategy established the foundations for a long-term economic partnership and delivered extensive mutual wins, including a three-fold increase in non-stop air services between Victoria and India.

Victoria is an attractive location for prominent multinational companies, including Indian technology companies such as Infosys, Wipro, UST, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, HCL, Cyient, Ramco Systems, Sonata Software, Cognizant and Sedin Technologies. These competitive advantages, as well as our specialities in food and agribusiness, education, and digital technology and innovation present significant opportunities for collaboration with India.

Victoria proudly operates the largest state government trade and investment network of any Australian state or territory. Our Indian offices in Bengaluru and Mumbai help to make connections for trade, investment, and international education services.

Strategic investment in Victoria’s international network and securing direct flights have been instrumental in supporting Victorian businesses and economic outcomes for the state.

Objective 3: Deepen bilateral education, innovation and technology ties for a vibrant knowledge economy

Long standing education, digital technology and innovation ties have been at the core of the Victoria-India relationship. Further opportunities to expand those partnerships will be explored to enhance our reputation as a world leading knowledge economy.

India is well recognised as a global leader in technology services, talent and innovation. Indian technology companies call Victoria home to utilise Victoria’s highly skilled workforce.

Indian talent also plays a critical role in building Victoria’s digital technology workforce. Indian migrants were the top nationality of Information and Communications Technology occupations.

Indian students also play a valuable role in our knowledge economy with around 65,600 Indian students enrolled in Victorian education institutions in 2023, accounting for 23 per cent of all international enrolments in Victoria and fostering the environment for entrepreneurial students to make industry connections.

Indian entrepreneurs have a global-first mindset and Victoria is the ideal destination for startups. Growing engagement between our globally connected and industry focused accelerator program and innovation hubs will be instrumental in supporting startups, scale-ups and greater innovation.

The Victorian Government’s trade and investments arms, Global Victoria and Invest Victoria play a key role in our strategy to foster long term economic prosperity, including by increasing the state's export opportunities, and developing key sectors to create jobs and drive economic growth.

With an international network of 23 Victorian Government Trade and Investment (VGTI) offices, ours is the largest network of any Australian state or territory. Victoria has two VGTI offices in India, an office in Bengaluru (since 2005) and in Mumbai (2012). These offices help Victorian companies export to India, identify Indian investment and technology partners who will grow the Victorian economy, and support and promote Victoria’s education industry.

Victoria has established close relationship with states across India, but there are opportunities to deepen ties. We will focus on strengthening engagement with government partners and industry where our strategic goals are the same, and continue looking for opportunities for new partnerships, for example with Gujarat and Punjab, where there is potential for collaboration on both cultural and economic fronts.

Food and agribusiness are critically important sectors to both Victoria and India. Agriculture is a significant part of our economies and communities, and we share a love for quality food and beverages. Since 2018, Victoria has successfully built awareness of Victorian products and helped companies understand the right pathways to market.

This includes connecting Victorian food and beverage businesses with Indian suppliers through trade missions. Success stories include the Craft Beer and Spirits Visit Program, hosted at the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, which featured several Indian chefs and an Indian themed lunch, and trade missions to ProWine India 2023 and the Aahar International Food & Hospitality Fair 2024.

We have also supported industry associations in India following the implementation of AI-ECTA, which provides growing opportunities for Victoria and India agricultural trade. The agreement supports Victorian exports to India by improving market access for commodities such as wool, hides, sheep meat, horticulture, lentils, cereals, fruits, berries and nuts. Victoria’s high-value wool exports are also an important input into India’s fashion industry.

What’s the opportunity

As Indian consumers' tastes diversify and India seeks to grow its agricultural productivity, there are opportunities for Victoria to increase exports to India, explore research cooperation opportunities and promote our shared culinary experiences.

Victoria will benefit from the staged tariff reductions under AI-ECTA and through opportunities for collaboration in food and agricultural innovation and climate-smart farming, leveraging expertise in agri-bio research and on-farm trials.

Victoria is known for the strength and high quality of its education systems. Victoria has eight public universities, with two among the QS World’s top 50 rankings 2025. Victoria’s public vocational education and training (VET) system is also recognised for its quality, responsiveness to industry needs, and high employment rates.

Victorian universities and tertiary education providers have strong links with India, through transnational education partnerships, research, joint degrees, exchange programs, two-way mobility, and curriculum co-design and development. India is also Victoria’s largest source country for international students.

Within the primary and secondary schooling system, Victoria has invested in programs such as the Women in School Leadership (WISL) and Victorian Young Leaders to India to build capability, intercultural leaderships and life long connections.

Victoria hosts over 250 or around one-third of Australia's innovative EdTech companies, which support 6,800 jobs and contribute more than $1.4 billion annually to the economy.

Victoria’s International Education Recovery Plan 2025, released in 2022, reiterated the commitment to a strong education presence in India through its Global Education Network and South Asia Study Melbourne Hub. The Hub supports current and prospective Indian international students by providing resources on studying, living and working in Victoria.

The Victorian Government also delivered the first Victoria-India EdTech innovation exchange and policy paper in partnership with the Australia India Institute and EduGrowth. This enabled the delivery of EdTech trade missions to DIDAC, India’s largest EdTech conference, increasing the number of delegates from organisations from 19 to 43 in 2023.

What's the opportunity

There are opportunities to deepen Victoria’s education engagement with India through the Victorian Government’s Global Education Network based in India. This includes leveraging the mutual recognition of qualifications, collaborative skills development, curriculum engagement, facilitation of joint degree programs between higher education institutions, student and academic exchange, and supporting the internationalisation of India’s education sector.

Embedding cultural and intercultural understanding from a young age, familiarity with major Indian languages, and continuing to welcome and support Indian international students will continue to contribute to Victoria’s vibrancy and diversity.

With its world leading university and research hubs, Melbourne is the home for innovative businesses. The 2018 Strategy focused on the emerging opportunities in entrepreneurship, startups and e-commerce, while noting the need for innovation across other sectors including health.

Invest Victoria has assisted several Indian-based technology enterprises to announce Melbourne as their Oceania or Australian headquarters, including Sedin Technologies and JARVIS Invest. Indian multinational AI company Fractal also announced it would scale up operations in Melbourne.

India has the third largest number of startups in the world and has produced the third largest number of unicorns – reaching 111 in 2023. Innovations such as India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) have been groundbreaking. In 2022, the National Payments Corporation of India reported 74 billion UPI transactions, worth around $2.25 trillion.

Victoria and India’s connections across the startup and scale-up ecosystems continue to grow. World leading Victorian accelerator programs provide attractive offerings to help Indian technology companies prepare for international market expansion and are increasingly active in India.

The Victorian Government has facilitated and secured further investments from major Indian technology companies, such as UST, LeadSquared, Zepic, and Infosys’ first Living Labs. This has created jobs and fostered partnerships with Victorian universities to drive innovation.

The Victorian Government has assisted RMIT University to partner with the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (BITS) for the new BITS-RMIT Higher Education Academy and La Trobe University to partner with the Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre, to support innovation in its new Bio Innovation Hub and Digital Innovation Hub.

What's the opportunity

Digital technology is a critical aspect of Victoria and India’s economic relationship that enables multiple points of engagement across trade, investment, international education and talent development in the digital economy. Areas of opportunity span cyber security, digital games, EdTech, energy, FinTech, MedTech, DeepTech, and SportsTech.

There is a modest but impactful number of Victorian tech companies succeeding in India with room to grow. While India is a global leader in technology services, Victoria has strengths that are complementary in India, particularly in relation to measurement and monitoring technologies.

Melbourne’s iconic events calendar and the attractions of our regions has catapulted Victoria in the imaginations of Indian visitors.

Research undertaken by Visit Victoria and Tourism Australia reveals that 55 per cent of Indian travellers are considering a trip to Melbourne in the next four years.

Indian tourism to Victoria is on track to achieve the 2018 Strategy’s 2027 targets for overnight expenditure by tourists. Tourism Research Australia forecasts show India having a 62 per cent increase in visitation to Australia from 2019 to 2028, making it Australia’s fourth largest market for total visitation, up from eighth in 2019.

The state's business events sector is also a major driver of the Victorian economy, generating an estimated $12.6 billion annually and supporting more than 84,000 jobs.

As of March 2024, visitor spending in Victoria reached $39.3 billion with India emerging as a crucial market. It is Victoria's third-largest source of international visitor expenditure at $451 million in the year to March 2024, nearly reaching pre-pandemic levels. India has strong visitation across all segments, including holiday, visiting friends and relatives, and education. India’s outbound travel market is rapidly expanding, driven by a growing middle class and a younger, educated population. With a projected 2.7 million high-value travellers, India is set to become a leading source of high-spending tourism, particularly in the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) sector, expected to exceed $45 billion by 2025.

The Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) is Victoria’s lead agency for attracting and delivering international business events to the state. In 2022, it established an office in India to explore MICE opportunities to strengthen trade and investment between India and Victoria. In the first two years since the establishment of this new office, MCB attracted 14 incentive groups from India, generating close to $29 million in economic impact for Victoria.

Increases in aviation links now also make travel between Victoria and India easier than ever. Attracting flights to India was a focus of the 2018 Strategy, including to the major cities of Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru.

What's the opportunity

Backed by strong air connections, tourism is now an established sector between Victoria and India.

For those who visit Victoria, there is an opportunity to promote activities beyond visiting friends and family to showcase all that Victoria has to offer, including a world-renowned dining and cultural scene, and wellness and adventure tourism.

There are also further opportunities to attract conferences to Melbourne that can enable business and professional connection in priority subject areas for Victoria and India.

The 2018 Strategy recognised creative industries as an emerging and vital sector, with opportunities across visual and performing arts, literature, music, design, film, fashion, and digital games to strengthen relationships, drive commercial value, build audiences and develop careers.

Victoria has strengthened business links in screen and games exchanges, supported creative and cultural collaborations, and increased attendances at major platform exhibitions and events. This has included, among others:

• Melbourne Museum presented two exclusive exhibitions in partnership with Indian cultural institutions: Sutr Santati: Then, Now. Next - stories of India woven in thread; and Mahatma Gandhi: An Immigrant, while the National Gallery of Victoria presented Transforming Worlds: Change and Tradition in Contemporary India.

• Victoria partnered with the Commonwealth to showcase Victorian creatives in Australia Fest in India, including film, literature, children’s theatre, music and comedy, reaching an audience of more than 2 million.

• The Melbourne International Comedy Festival routinely features Indian performers through its Melbourne festival and regional tours. In addition, the Asia Triennial of Performing Arts and the Sangam Festival of Performing Arts of South Asia both provide platforms for Victorian and Indian artists to work together and reach new local and international audiences.

With 450 million online gamers in India, and over 130 digital game studios in Victoria, Victoria welcomed the first inbound digital games mission to Melbourne International Games Week. Demonstrating our complementarity, Global Victoria and Creative Victoria then led a virtual delegation to the Indian Game Developers Conference.

What's the opportunity

Further investment and coordination can help to continue to foster and develop connections across the creative industries. Expanding artist and creative agency networks, and the promotion of the screen sector to Indian film makers, producers and studios, would help to embed those connections between artists and community.

Linking Victorian expertise across the design spectrum with Indian interests will be a future area of interest and focus to explore. Victoria is committed to continuously showcasing our rich histories and cultures across all creative industries and art forms.

Melbourne is Australia’s sporting capital, with its venues including the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) presenting memorable experiences for Indian visitors to Australia. There are opportunities to bring Victoria and India together through our shared love of sport.

The 2018 Strategy raised the profile of the Victorian sports sector in India by increasing sports tourism. Strong partnerships and connections built with India in the sports sector since then demonstrate our shared passion across community and professional sport, fan engagement, and the business of sport.

Since 2018, the Victorian Government has:

• Partnered with Cricket Australia to deliver the Indian Summer Festival coinciding with the 2018 Australia vs India Boxing Day test match.

• Delivered a series of outbound and inbound sports missions with India, including two SportsTech trade mission to India in 2018 and inbound missions to SportNXT in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

These activities have laid the groundwork for future collaboration across various sports. This includes India’s second most popular sport kabaddi (a contact team sport originating in India), and sports with growing interest such as hockey, tennis, and basketball, as well as Victorian staples, such as cricket, AFL, and netball.

Victoria has developed world-class capability in high-performance sports science and athlete management, cutting edge SportsTech, modern media and broadcasting, design and management of sporting infrastructure and supporting gender equality and inclusion. Victorian universities’ expertise in sports management is highly regarded in India and there is increasing interest in our sports educational and professional services.

India’s sporting sector is growing rapidly. By 2027, it is projected to be worth around $1.5 billion. The Indian Premier League (IPL) is the most popular cricket league in the world, but interest in other sports, such as hockey, wrestling and athletics, is increasing. Initiatives such as the Khelo India Scheme are developing sports infrastructure at the community level and public and private sports academies are nurturing the next generation of elite Indian talent.

What's the opportunity

Victoria is well positioned to continue building on the professional and community sports connections we share with India. The shared passion for sport, scale of the market, and combined expertise on both sides (across the breadth of the sports economy, such as SportsTech, sport management, sports education, and major event delivery and venue management) provide ample opportunity for partnership.

Community sport is a powerful platform to help promote inclusivity, gender equality and social connections. Supporting a variety of community sports will continue to promote inclusive cultural and multicultural understanding.

Water management, waste management, sustainable products, and clean technologies are areas where Victoria and India share a commitment to finding solutions. The Victorian Government and Victorian companies are building partnerships with state government and industry partners in India to develop innovative solutions to shared challenges.

Victoria has delivered outbound and inbound trade missions to connect government agencies and companies in innovative recycling and sustainable products, including the first inbound mission to EcoLogiq’s Greener Infrastructure Conference in Melbourne in partnership with India’s Institute of International Waste Management.

The Victorian Government also supported the Water Sensitive Cities Seminar Series together with India’s Centre for Science and Environment and Melbourne’s CRC for Water Sensitive Cities to share experiences and connect the industry.

India is increasingly looking for partners with expertise in water and waste management, and technical services that support the growth of India’s economy and cities. Victoria is well-known for its expertise in water management and water scarcity and its climate and topography are similar to India’s. Victoria’s investments in sustainable procurement for the state’s Big Build are driving innovation in waste management and recycled and sustainable products, which is opening export opportunities to India.

Victoria and India are both pursuing renewable energy pathways to support commitments to energy transition and reducing emissions. The Victorian Government will continue to support partnerships for businesses in this sector.

What’s the opportunity

Victoria and India could benefit from joint action across multiple aspects of sustainability including water management, waste management, and clean energy.

The provision of tailored advice, including working one-on-one with Victorian companies, will help to position Victorian products and services in India and expand networks with partners and purchasers.

Improving people’s overall wellbeing is a key focus in both the Indian and Victorian health and life sciences sectors, and there are growing commercial opportunities in the beauty, wellness and personal care (BWPC) market.

Victoria is home to world-class biomedical facilities and companies including CSL, BioNTech, and Moderna and is a prime destination for clinical trials. Victoria's Health and Medical Research Strategy 2022-2032 emphasises the need to build connections and promote research globally.

India is recognised for its cost-effective health innovation and is a major producer of generic pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and consumable and disposable medical devices. It is an important supplier of these products to global markets, including to Victoria’s health sector.

Since 2018, the Victorian Government has supported Victorian BWPC companies through trade missions, including Cosmoprof India Mumbai 2023, and developed a strong relationship with key stakeholders.

What's the opportunity

India is emerging as one of the largest markets in the world for BWPC products, driven by increasing urbanisation, growing disposable incomes, participation of women in the workforce, and growth in e-commerce and social media marketing.

Victorian BWPC products are well regarded in India, with companies having success through e-commerce and physical retail outlets.

Opportunities in the health, and life sciences sector are primarily in relation to medical devices, digital health and startup activity.

Victoria’s reputation as a home to some of the best innovators, scientists, clinicians, and knowledge institutes in the world may lead to partnerships with Indian companies in the sector.

Manufacturing is a cornerstone of the Victorian economy and one of the most significant drivers of growth and productivity. It represents a $33.5 billion industry that is paramount for job creation, innovation, and exports. It intersects other sectors and industries, including in clean energy, sustainability, and innovation.

The Indian manufacturing industry is home to major international firms, and small and medium sized manufacturing, supporting global supply chains. It is experiencing a gradual shift to more automated and process-driven manufacturing and is projected to be one of the fastest growing sectors, already contributing 16-17 per cent of India’s GDP.

The Victorian Government has taken steps to connect Victorian industry with Indian government and private sector delegations and provided customised assistance to exporters in technology.

Victoria and India have both seen significant changes and advances in the manufacturing sector since 2018. Manufacturing in Victoria today is flexible, digital, internationally connected and strongly grounded in the state’s strengths in research and innovation. The Victorian Government is backing manufacturing including through the 2022 Made in Victoria 2030: Manufacturing Statement to build critical advanced manufacturing skills and capabilities across the economy.

The Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme targets the development of fourteen sectors of the Indian economy to boost domestic production of medical devices and pharmaceuticals, automobiles and auto components, food products, solar PV modules and other goods. India’s National Manufacturing Policy also aims to further increase the share of manufacturing in GDP to 25 per cent by 2025.

What's the opportunity

As Victoria and India both pursue productivity growth and innovative solutions across the economy, Victoria welcomes collaboration and knowledge sharing with India in manufacturing, engineering, and related sectors should opportunities of mutual benefit arise.

Victoria will continue to explore and facilitate partnerships where Victorian and Indian partners can combine technical innovation and localised approaches to deliver manufacturing and engineering products and solutions.

Victoria’s India Strategy: Our Shared Future 2025-30 is our blueprint to engage with one of our biggest trading partners. It is also a celebration of what we have achieved so far and of the deep connection Victoria shares with India.

To achieve our aims, it is going to take a collective effort from the Victorian Government. We will work jointly with our Indian counterparts, including community and industry partners and national and sub-national governments

To make sure we are meeting the goals we set out to achieve, and to make sure those goals still make sense in an ever-changing world we will intermittently review our progress.