Inside the issue: January 2019  

When Walmart, the no. 1 ranked Fortune 500 company, picked up a 77% stake in homegrown e-commerce company Flipkart, there were murmurs about whether the U.S. giant had overpaid to get into the Indian market. But Flipkart is a long-term bet for the global behemoth and clearly, these factors had been taken into account in view of what the Indian market has to offer.

Today’s India is a market that few global companies can afford to ignore, more so in the consumer space. Rising income levels, aspirational shoppers, cheaper data powering the smartphone and telecom boom are factors which have contributed to creating a new Indian consumer who just cannot getaway from the urge to splurge.

Over 350 million Indians—more than the total population of Walmart’s home country—belong to a family that has a total income of over ₹25,000 a month and close to 500 million have access to the Internet. And a recent report by the World Economic Forum with Bain & Company says India is poised to be the third largest consumer market, behind only the U.S. and China. The WEF-Bain report sees consumer spending growing from $1.5 trillion today to $6 trillion by 2030.

In our cover story this month, we tell you why Walmart’s acquisition of Flipkart is clearly what we at Fortune India call the “Move of the Year”.

The cover story apart, the Fortune India team also does some crystal ball gazing and tells you what 2019 could hold for us, whether it’s business, politics, or entertainment.