Victoria enjoys close relationships and growing trade ties with India and across the South Asia region in international education, food and fibre, sport, technology, and other services including tourism, supported by strong people-to-people connections.

Market snapshot

India remains one of the fastest growing economies in the world and is an important economic and strategic partner for Australia.

The Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA) has been ratified by both the Australian and Indian governments and entered into force on 29 December 2022. In good news for Australian exporters, there will be two tariff cuts in close succession one on 29 December 2022 and another on 1 January 2023.

• For more information about the AI-ECTA and how your business can take advantage of the benefits, please visit DFAT’s AI-ECTA suite of resources
• DFAT have also published a guide on how to use AI-ECTA
• DFAT’s FTA Portal lists Australia's current free trade agreements and how to apply for preferential treatment under established FTAs, including the AI-ECTA.

The Quad dialogue between Australia, India, Japan and the United States is increasing cooperation in critical technologies, supply chains, education, infrastructure, climate change and health. The response to COVID-19 has helped fast track India’s push towards a digital economy, with enhanced digital services, investment in digital infrastructure and greater technology take up from consumers.

Victoria's India Strategy

The relationship between Victoria and India has evolved and strengthened since the release of 𝘝𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢’𝘴 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘺: 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘍𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 in 2018.

In September 2024, 𝘝𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢’𝘴 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘺: 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘍𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 2025-30 was launched, aimed at further boosting cooperation with India across strategically important sectors and states. Our vision is to further advance the  Victoria - India relationship and to ensure we continue to share dynamic and deep connections across our economies and societies.

Learn more about Victoria's India Strategy: Our Shared Future 2025-30 and how we're strengthening our partnership with India.

Victoria's India Success Stories

Swisse

Swisse is an Australian wellness brand with a simple yet powerful mission: to help people around the world become healthier and happier.

Founded in 1969 by Kevin Ring in a small Melbourne warehouse, Swisse was built on a dream to make wellness accessible globally. Over the past 40 years, Swisse has stayed committed to this mission, formulating products using premium ingredients backed by both traditional wisdom and scientific research.

From best-selling multivitamins to sports nutrition, skincare, and functional foods, Swisse offers a wide range of products designed to support holistic wellness. The brand’s commitment to health and happiness,  known within Swisse as “H&H,” guides every decision, ensuring all products meet the “H&H test” for quality and effectiveness.

Swisse products are available across Australia, New Zealand, China, and Europe, with ambitious plans to expand into new markets over the next five years.

Winning strategies for the Indian Market

Swisse’s success in India is a testament to the power of strategic partnerships and expert support.

Since entering the market in 2020 with an eCommerce-first approach, Swisse has collaborated with platforms such as Amazon, Nykaa, Flipkart, Myntra, Pharmeasy, and more.

A crucial factor in Swisse’s growth has been the support provided by Global Victoria over the past four years. From delivering in-market insights to navigating regulatory landscapes, Global Victoria’s expertise has empowered Swisse to adapt and thrive in India’s dynamic BWPC industry.

Additionally, Swisse’s participation in Austrade's Australia-India Business Exchange (AIBX) in 2020 further amplified their opportunities.

Sport

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 existing professional and community sports connections 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 inclusion, gender equality, and social connections. Supporting a variety of community sports will continue to promote inclusive cultural and multicultural understanding.

Cricket Victoria

In 2024, Cricket Victoria launched the Melbourne Cricket Academy (MCA) in partnership with Indian sports company KheloMore Sports.

The MCA will provide high-quality cricket coaching and development opportunities to equip participants with the skills, knowledge and confidence to excel in the game. The MCA is set to launch in several Indian schools in the first quarter of 2025. The MCA stems from Cricket Victoria’s Indian Schools Strategy to deliver structured coaching programs and foster growth of cricket in Indian schools. The partnership with KheloMore Sports provides crucial on-the-ground support in Indian schools.

To develop the MCA, Cricket Victoria leveraged the strength of its international relationships, including connections within the local India-Australia business community in Melbourne. Support from Victorian and Commonwealth government networks and individual consultants was invaluable in understanding the environment and identifying key contacts in India, ensuring the successful development of the program.

Hockey Victoria

Hockey has long been a shared passion and connection for Victoria and India.

Key moments include India winning the gold medal for men’s hockey at the Melbourne Olympic Games in 1956 and Australia and India playing in the women’s hockey final of the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006. The Bollywood film ‘Chak De! India’ was also filmed with local hockey talent at Victoria’s State Netball and Hockey Centre in Parkville, Melbourne.

Victoria’s Indian community is playing a growing role in hockey at all levels of the game. Hockey Victoria has worked with local clubs and the Australian Hockey One (H1) League to support growing participation rates, fan engagement and player development opportunities for the local Indian community and Indian international players in Victoria and Australia.

Hockey Victoria is developing a relationship with the Government of Odisha and the Odisha Hockey Association by supporting grassroots and professional hockey connections, including mutually beneficial player, coaching and high-performance exchange opportunities. Through this relationship, Hockey Victoria is working towards the creation of a new Victorian-based hockey franchise. The goals are to provide a visible, engaging and community-focused team for both male and female talent, and to inspire fans of hockey across both countries, particularly those migrating to Melbourne and Victoria, to engage in hockey and physical activity

Regional Insights Spring 2024

New opportunities in India

The final quarter of 2024 marked significant developments in Victoria-India relations. Global Victoria played a key role in supporting the Premier of Victoria’s first international visit. The visit coincided with the launch of the refreshed Victoria’s India Strategy; Our Shared Future 2025-2030, as well as the first higher education mission to India.

The new presence of internationally branded trade fairs in India is recognition of a more outward focused and maturing market. Global Victoria supported Victorian edtech companies to DIDAC International Education Fair (18 – 20 September 2024), wine exporters to ProWine (8 – 9 November 2024) and beauty and wellness exporters to Cosmoprof (5 – 7 December 2024).

Premier’s official travel to India

The Premier’s visit profiled opportunities across education, trade, investment, tourism, sport and creative industries and coincided with the launch of the India Strategy. Key highlights of the Premier’s program included the inauguration of Victoria stand at DIDAC Education Fair, launching the University of Melbourne’s Global Centre in India, delivering the Australia India Institute’s annual oration and unveiling a new product range for Natio in the beauty wellness and personal care sector. The Premier also witnessed the signing of an agreement between La Trobe University and India’s Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) to develop an innovation corridor, and attended the Indian premiere of My Melbourne, a collaborative film project between Victoria and India. My Melbourne has since been shown at film festivals in Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai and will launch in Indian cinemas next year.

During the visit, the Premier also announced that Firstsource will establish its new headquarters in Melbourne creating up to 420 jobs in Victoria. Firstsource is a global business process services company from India that provides digital transformation solutions to a broad range of industries.

Additionally, Sonata Software, a global tech company, will establish its Centre of Excellence in Melbourne focused on the retail and manufacturing industries. It will create around 100 new Victorian jobs over the next three years, including data engineers, solution architects and technical analysts.

International education

One of the major announcements during the visit was the launch of a new $5 million 'Yes to International Students  Fund'.

This fund will support Victorian universities and TAFEs to expand their transnational education offering and deliver Australian courses to international students outside Australia.

Additionally, the Premier also announced that 500 subclass 491 nomination places will be reserved in FY2024-25 for international students who have graduated from Victorian educational institutions. In October 2024, Study Melbourne hosted a delegation of 16 school leaders, led by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). 
The weeklong program included engagements with key Victorian organisations (e.g. Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership, Knox Innovation Opportunity and Sustainability Centre) and universities with strong global reputations.

The program showcased best practices in early childhood development, as well as innovations in teaching and learning across both school and tertiary education. The initiative highlighted the potential for deeper collaboration in areas including enhanced teacher training, student exchanges and curriculum development.

Victoria at ProWine Mumbai

The VGTI office in India supported four Victorian companies to exhibit at ProWine Mumbai 2024 (8 – 9 November 2024), India’s leading event for the wine and spirits industry.

India’s alcoholic beverages market, valued at US$54 billion in 2024, is the third largest globally, and the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, which entered into force in 2022, has made it easier for Australian wine exporters to access this growing market.

Victoria at Cosmoprof India

Global Victoria exhibited at Cosmoprof India (5 – 7 December 2024) for the second year in a row. Seven Victorian brands in fragrance, skincare, baby skincare and wellness products exhibited, demonstrating Victoria’s strong capabilities in a wide range of categories in the Beauty, Wellness and Personal Care (BWPC) sector.

Australia India trade agreement (AI ECTA) gives our haircare and skincare brands duty free access to the Indian market as duties for most products have dropped to zero. The Australia India Economic and Trade Agreement (AI ECTA) grants duty free access for our haircare and skincare products into India.

The delegation consisted of first time and repeat delegates, with six of the seven Victorian brands led by women founders or leaders. The Victorian pavilion attracted strong interest from leading beauty platforms and distributors at the vastly expanded trade show this year. In addition to exhibiting at Cosmoprof, Global Victoria also set up a business matching and meeting program across Bengaluru and Mumbai and visited several flagship beauty retail stores.

Victoria-India sports collaboration

Sport is taking centre stage in Victoria-India relations. On 10 November, the Premier announced that Melbourne would host Australia’s first Pro Kabaddi League exhibition match on 28 December, following the Boxing Day Cricket Test. Kabaddi, the second most popular sport in India after cricket, will be a significant addition to Victoria’s sporting calendar in 2024/25.

Global Victoria recently supported the Indian Consulate to deliver an Australia-India Sports Roundtable, which provided an important opportunity to examine the role of sport in unlocking new strategic outcomes for the state. The roundtable follows the Sports Tech World Series (STWS) conference held in Melbourne (24 October 2024), which hosted two speakers from leading sports start-ups from India. With SportNXT 2025 now confirmed for March 2025 in Melbourne, Global Victoria looks forward to growing Victoria’s sport, sport tech and adjacent industries’ relationship with the large and complimentary Indian market.

Previous Regional Insights

• Autumn 2024
• Spring/Summer 2023/24
• Winter 2023 Insights
• Autumn 2023 Insights
• Summer 2022/2023 Insights
• Spring 2022 Insights

Key industries of opportunity for Victorian exporters

Victoria remains an Australian destination of choice for South Asian students. India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are all in the top ten largest student markets for Victoria. India is one of the most significant student markets and Victoria welcomes the most Indian students of any Australian state.

India’s new National Education Policy is transforming the education system across all levels of education and includes a strong focus on enhancing international partnerships. Edtech is generating new opportunities to partner in innovation and provide new education solutions.

Download India's National Education Policy

India is increasingly looking for partners with expertise in water management, waste management, and technical services that support the growth of India’s economy and cities. Victorian companies are having success joining Indian partners to pursue these opportunities.

Read about the Victorian company, Rubicon and the irrigation project it's delivering in India

Victorian beauty, personal care and wellness products are well regarded in India and companies are having success through eCommerce and physical retail outlets.

In recent years, Global Victoria has supported Swisse entrance into India.

Digital games is an emerging sector for Victoria.

The digital gaming sector in India is growing at a rapid pace, with the number of people playing online games growing by 80 per cent from 360 million in 2020 to 390 million in 2021.

EY estimates that by 2023, there will be 450 million gamers in India. Global Victoria is focused on increasing the links between the Indian and Victorian gaming sectors, delivering two trade missions to gaming conferences in Melbourne and Hyderabad in 2022.

India represents a major market for Victorian wool, pulses, fruit and nuts and some packaged foods. The recently signed Australia India Economic Cooperation Agreement offers tariff reductions across a range of agricultural products which will benefit Victorian exporters.

The Indian craft beer market is the fastest-growing segment within the Indian AlcoBev market. Victoria has opportunity to position itself as a preferred supplier of ingredients, including hops and malt, and provide expertise to the rapidly growing craft brewing industry in India.

India has some of the biggest and fastest growing sports leagues in the world, including the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The success of the IPL has led to new Indian national competitions for sports such as hockey, kabaddi, soccer and tennis which attract large audiences. This increase in professional sporting leagues is driving investment in India’s sports economy and presents opportunities for all parts of the Victorian sports sector, from infrastructure and sports administration through to sports science and sports tech.

India was Victoria’s second largest tourism market by value in 2019 and is the fastest growing international visitor market to return to Victoria following the reopening of Australia’s international borders.

The return of tourists from India is mostly driven by visiting friends and relatives, education, business and sports and events travel and is supported by direct flights run by Qantas and Air India between Melbourne and New Delhi.

Contact us

Have a question?  Get in touch with us.