Fancy an LGBT-friendly resort, a drag night at a top New Delhi hotel or a spa for gay men? These are only some of the businesses increasingly vying for India’s powerful “pink rupee” just months after the country decriminalized same-sex relations.

The Supreme Court scrapped a colonial-era ban on gay sex last September, not only allowing a nascent gay culture to come into the open but also laying the groundwork for the country’s “pink economy”. Experts forecast more businesses will start openly courting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community - one of the biggest LGBT+ markets in the world - to sell their products and employ people in Asia’s third-largest economy.

“The Indian LGBT+ market is one that is clearly substantial and which we expect to grow fairly rapidly in coming months and years as a direct result of the Supreme Court decision,” said Ian Johnson, chief executive of Paris-based firm Out Now Consulting.

According to the marketing company, which helps businesses target gay clients, India is home to nearly 56 million LGBT+ adults who earn about $113 billion a year. Johnson predicted alcohol and travel brands to be the first ones to tap the sizeable market followed by banking, insurance, healthcare, fashion, car and tech industries. Read more via Thomson Reuters Foundation