Paisa vasool. The money is recovered. Wiktionary glosses the Hindi phrase as “bang for the buck.”
A Hindi film of 2004, starring Manisha Koirala and Sushmita Sen, took the phrase as its title. Wikipedia explains the title as “a common phrase meaning “value for money.””
C.K. Ranganathan made his name “selling the now famous Chik Shampoo at Rs. 1/- a sachet,” Madras Musings recalls. “The name ‘Chik’ was coined using letters from his father’s name Chinni Krishnan.”
Karsanbhai Patel, a laboratory technician, founded Nirma in 1969 as a one-man operation. His yellow washing powder “was priced at ₹3.50 per kg, at a time when HUL’s Surf was priced at ₹13,” Wikipedia notes.
Kitna deti hai? How much does it give? The question is about mileage. Maruti Suzuki and the agency Publicis Capital built an advertising series on it. The first films appeared on Maruti Suzuki’s YouTube channel in December 2011.
“The question brilliantly sums up the obsession for mileage among Indian consumers,” Business Standard wrote. “Mileage has become an extremely important criterion when it comes to car buying.”
Hero Honda launched the CD100 motorcycle in 1985. Its advertising was built on the slogan “Fill it, Shut it and Forget it,” which emphasized fuel efficiency.
Isse sasta aur achha kahin nahin. Nowhere is it cheaper and better than here. This was the tagline of the retail chain Big Bazaar before it changed to Nayi India Ka Bazaar. Business Standard translated it as “there is nothing as inexpensive and good as this.”
“Back in the day, a Rs 5 pack gave you a hearty 100 grams of biscuit goodness,” YourStory wrote of Parle-G in 2023. “Fast forward to today, and you’re looking at around 55 grams.”
The price stayed the same. In 2022 Hindustan Times reported the approach: “We reduce the weight of the pack till it’s feasible.”
In December 2022 the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare recommended a ban on the sale of single cigarettes. Its reasoning was that a smoker who has to pay for a full pack may buy less.
“The sale of loose cigarettes is widespread across the country,” the Free Press Journal noted.
On September 1, 2016, Mukesh Ambani announced the tariffs of his new mobile network at the annual meeting of Reliance Industries. “Reliance Jio’s effective rates will be Rs 50 per GB,” Business Today reported.
The network launched on September 5, 2016, with free data and voice calls until December 31. The free period was later extended to March 31, 2017.
India’s Mars Orbiter Mission, Mangalyaan, was launched on November 5, 2013. It entered orbit around Mars on September 24, 2014, on its first attempt.
The mission was known for its low budget. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that it had cost less than the Hollywood film Gravity.