Australian PM Anthony Albanese meets dabbawallas in Mumbai; watch viral video

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who is in India for a four-day visit, met Mumbai’s popular dabbawalas at an event on Wednesday. Union minister Piyush Goyal, who was also present at the event, tweeted a video where Albanese was seen with a group of dabbawalas dressed in traditional white outfits with Gandhi caps. The food delivery agents presented a tiffin box to Albanese. 

Dabbawalas are famous for operating a globally renowned lunchbox delivery and return system in Mumbai where they supply hot lunches from homes and restaurants to people at work. The services started nearly 125 years ago when a Parsi banker working in Mumbai wanted to have fresh hot food made by his wife. He appointed a young man to deliver his lunch from his home every afternoon. 

Over the years, that one-man tiffin service grew into a profitable institution in Mumbai, which has endured time and trends. Today, the Dabbawallas of Mumbai is a case study for management students at several institutes across the world.  

Before the Covid period, the Dabbawalla service was a Rs 40-45-crore industry, with 5,000 delivery men transporting 2,00,000 lunch boxes daily for an average monthly fee of Rs 450-500 a box. 

The dabbawalas use the suburban trains to deliver the lunch boxes. The three railway lines – Western, Central and Harbour – which link 70 stations, help the dabbawalas to deliver the lunch boxes, from the farthest northern suburbs to the business areas on the southern tip of the city, within two hours. 

Anthony Albanese's visit to India

Earlier in the day, PM Narendra Modi and Albanese watched the fourth Test between India and Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad for half an hour after taking a round of the imposing sports arena on a golf cart.

PM Modi and Albanese handed over Test caps to their respective team captains, Rohit Sharma and Steve Smith. 
 

Modi and Albanese met players from both sides and stood with them when the national anthems of India and Australia were sung.

This is PM Albanese's first bilateral visit to India since the Labour Party government was sworn in in May 2022. The visit to India aims to further strengthen India-Australia bilateral relations.  

During the visit of the Australian PM, India is likely to announce significant investments in the rare earth sector in Australia. KABIL (Khanij Bidesh India Limited) is set to make a significant investment in the rare earth sector in Australia, a move welcomed by the Australian government and the Indian government, particularly by the business community. 

Australia is the 17th largest trading partner of India and India is Australia's 9th largest trading partner. 

(With agency inputs)