India Unlocked Episode 5: Trade and Investment Opportunities in Maharashtra
When the Auckland Business Chamber, Deloitte and the Consulate General of India in Auckland surveyed New Zealand businesses earlier this year, one finding stood out clearly: understanding India’s individual states remains one of the biggest barriers to doing business successfully.
That’s why we created India Unlocked—a state-by-state event series designed to help New Zealand businesses better understand where the opportunities are, what makes each state unique, and how to engage successfully. For the fifth episode of this series, we focus on Maharashtra.
Maharashtra is India’s largest state economy, worth roughly US$580 billion in 2026-27 and contributing close to 14% of national GDP on its own. It’s also the country’s most industrialised state, accounting for a fifth of India’s industrial output, and has drawn more foreign direct investment than any other state: over US$107 billion cumulatively since October 2019. Mumbai anchors that scale as India’s financial capital, home to both the Bombay and National Stock Exchanges, while the wider Mumbai-Pune corridor pairs deep capital markets with strong auto and IT manufacturing bases. On logistics, the September 2025 opening of the Bharat Mumbai Container Terminal at JNPT gave Maharashtra the largest container handling capacity of any Indian port, at 10 million TEUs a year.
Hear directly from a panel including India’s Consul General in Auckland and Auckland-based leaders with firsthand experience in Maharashtra, on the state’s business environment, key industries and practical advice for New Zealand businesses looking to expand there.
Panel Discussion
Dr. Madan Mohan Sethi
Consul General, Consulate General of India
Dr. Madan Mohan Sethi joined the Indian Foreign Service in 2006, after four years in Odisha’s healthcare sector. His postings have spanned Yangon, where he served in the Information and Culture wing from 2008 to 2010, and Mandalay as Consul General from 2010 to 2014, driving trade and cultural engagement with India’s Northeast. In Rome, as Political and Commercial Officer from 2014 to 2017, he helped lift bilateral trade with Italy by US$900 million. He later led the ASEAN and Central Europe Divisions, and served as Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City from 2020 to 2024, engaging all 29 Vietnamese provinces.
Mahesh Bindra
Chairman of NZ Bharat Chamber of Commerce and Industry & Former Member of NZ Parliament
Mahesh Bindra is a former New Zealand First MP who served in the 51st Parliament (2014–2017), holding the Corrections, Customs, Land Information and Ethnic Affairs portfolios and sitting on the Law and Order Select Committee. Born in Mumbai, he initially set aside his family’s logistics business, aiming for an army career, before later building a large brewing and hospitality business in his home city instead. In New Zealand, a political science degree drew him into politics. Drawing on that experience, he founded the New Zealand Bharat Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2023 to strengthen business and cultural ties between the two countries.
Brijesh Sethi
Founder of NZ Skills and Education Group (NZSEG)
Brijesh Sethi is an Indian-born engineer, entrepreneur and education leader who has spent 22 years strengthening ties between New Zealand and India, work recognised with a place on the Prime Minister’s delegation to India in May 2025. He founded New Zealand Skills and Education Group, now six campuses across Auckland, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty, and has chaired Quality Tertiary Institutes for six years, advising government on sector policy. Alongside education, he built two travel companies. He remains focused on keeping education accessible to disadvantaged and underserved learners.
Jay Changlani
Chartered Accountant & Managing Partner of DFK Orb360 O’Halloran
Jay is a Chartered Accountant and Managing Partner at DFK Orb360 O’Halloran, part of DFK International’s global network of 440+ accounting and advisory offices. With over 20 years’ experience across international taxation, forensic accounting and corporate governance, he has worked at Inland Revenue New Zealand, Grant Thornton, Crowe Horwath and McDonald Vague. He currently sits on Audit & Risk Committees for Softball New Zealand, Presbyterian Support South Island and Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust, and previously served as Board Member and Treasurer of the India New Zealand Business Council.
