India hosts 25% of global weddings, indicating that it is a destination for one in four weddings in the world. According to the Indian Brand Equity Forum (IBEF), a trust established by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Indian wedding industry has become the fourth largest industry in the country after energy, banking, and insurance markets, with an annual revenue of 4.74 trillion rupees in 2023.
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), the nation’s leading trade association for retailers and traders, predicts that the current wedding season will witness over 42 lakh weddings across the country, with wedding-related sales and services accounting for over Rs 5.5 lakh crore in business.
Destination weddings are on the upswing, accounting for 21% in 2024 versus 18% in 2022. The destination wedding industry increased from $21 billion in 2022 to $28 billion in 2023, according to Research and Markets’ 2023 Destination Wedding Global Market Report.
According to CAIT estimates, every year more than 5,000 Indian couples now get married abroad. Indians spend or deprive local annual revenues ranging from Rs 75,000 crore to Rs 1 lakh crore every year on destination weddings overseas. Moreover, the government exchequer loses revenue from taxes and cess as the money is spent abroad.
Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, while promoting ‘Wed in India’ in his monthly radio programme, Mann Ki Baat, said that he was troubled by the trend of some “big families” organising weddings abroad, and he urged people to organise such events on Indian soil so that the country’s money does not go out.
He said, “If we celebrate the festivities of marriages on Indian soil, amid the people of India, the country’s money will remain in the country.” During a summit in Dehradun in December 2023, Prime Minister Modi again encouraged Indians to “Wed in India”.
The gala pre-wedding ceremony of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant is one of the biggest such events in the country. Speaking to the media at the pre-wedding ceremony in Jamnagar, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) director Anant Ambani said that he was also inspired by PM Modi’s initiative of Wed in India. He said, “It is a matter of pride and happiness when our PM said that one should get married in India.”
The Prime Minister’s initiative reportedly prompted actor-couple Rakul Preet Singh and Jackky Bhagnani to get married in Goa last month. The couple had planned to get married abroad, but at the last minute, they changed their mind and decided to get married in India.
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