Why Kunal Vora is gung-ho on affluent India theme and avoiding mass stocks

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Kunal Vora, Director, Head of India Equity Research, BNP Paribas, is confident on a long-term theme called affluent India. The income tax data which came out in recent months show that affluent India – the top 10% of the income earners – is doing really well and some of the stocks which BNP Paribas is recommending are coming from that theme.

What is your take on the market setup right now and the early readings from the earnings season?

We have turned positive on the market for the last few months and the market has played out well. Of late, certain worries are coming back into the market. There is rising bond yields in the US. The 30-year bond yields have almost gone up to 4.8%. We have also seen some worries regarding the raw metal prices. Crude has again moved up and the market has rallied. So, the comfort level has reduced over the last few months compared to what we were looking at in March-April.

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But the theme which we have been talking about of late is not really a short-term one, we are talking about a long-term theme called affluent India and that is something I can talk about. The income tax data which came out in recent months show that affluent India – the top 10% of the income earners – is doing really well and some of the stocks which we are recommending are coming from that theme.

Let us first talk about discretionary consumption. What is it that you are bullish on within that segment?

If I just go back to the income tax data which I just mentioned,