India's internet user base crossed 950 million in 2025, driven largely by rapid growth in rural connectivity, rising short-video consumption, and increasing adoption of AI, according to a report released by IAMAI on Thursday.
Financial services giant HDFC Bank, carrying a brand value of $44.9 billion, has surged past IT consulting behemoth Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to reclaim its crown as the country's most valued brand, according to the 2025 Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable Indian Brands report.
Though the oldest Alphas are just turning 15 in 2025, they're already more digitally fluent than any generation before, points out Sandeep Goyal.
Among urban users, 57 per cent mentioned a preference for accessing Internet content in vernacular languages.
A growing preference for convenience products and hybrid media consumption, and a surge in digital engagement have led to a rise in the average basket size for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) among rural consumers. The average of the rural FMCG basket saw a 60 per cent rise from 5.8 in 2022 to 9.3 in 2024 as it expanded to include convenience products like ready-to-eat packages and beverages, stated the fifth edition of the Rural Barometer Report, brought out jointly by GroupM and Kantar, which surveyed 4,376 rural adults across 20 states.
Dhoni endorses 42 brands to Bachchan's 41 and SRK's 34.
'A possible post-election growth momentum may be lost.'
Regional and local fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands are gaining momentum at the cost of national brands for the second quarter in a row. Consumer brands are now losing out on share, especially at the mass end of the market. Local brands have been able to capture market share as prices of raw materials are lower.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is India's most-valuable brand in 2022 replacing HDFC Bank, which held the number one spot since 2014, according to Kantar BrandZ report on India's most-valuable brands. TCS was able to grab the top slot due to rising global demand for automation and digital transformation, following the pandemic. Indian brands have bounced back from the pandemic to increase their brand value by 35 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) since 2020.
Nearly 665 million Indians or 45 per cent of the rural population did not have access to the internet as of 2023. Difficulty in understanding internet procedures, insufficient awareness of its benefits, and a lack of interest have emerged as the top reasons for a gap in internet penetration in rural India, according to a joint report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Kantar. "The proficiency of English in rural India is very low. While we have content in Hindi, the internet is English-heavy.
Politics is not on the radar of 18 to 21-year-old Indians, reveals Rama Bijapurkar.
The fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector has underperformed the Nifty over the past year as its 20 per cent return is trumped by 29 per cent of the benchmark index. The FMCG index saw a 2.2 per cent drop in the last session, while the Nifty lost 1 per cent. FMCG is seen as a defensive segment. The demand for staples like personal care products, groceries and snacks tend to be stable. FMCG companies are consistent dividend-payers.
The sources requested anonymity because the matter is confidential. Representatives for Manchester United and Sheikh Jassim did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Lamborghini has sold 10,112 cars worldwide -- so India's 100 is certainly a big deal for them. But how big a deal is it for us to peg our consumption theories around, asks Rama Bijapurkar.
A deal for United is expected to shatter records for the sale of a sports business. The club's current majority owners, the Glazer family, are seeking a valuation as high as 7 billion pounds ($8.42 billion).
In India, 39 per cent of the sample of a survey said 'very comfortable' for a woman heading the government, higher than 34 per cent who replied with 'very comfortable' for a woman heading a company. However, men are less accepting of such appointments.
The number of internet users in rural India increased 18 percent last year, faster than growth in urban areas and continuing a trend that started two years ago. Internet users in urban India increased 5 percent in 2021. Rural India has 351 million users, or 37 percent of people there, according to a report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and data analytics company KANTAR.
A strict enforcement of seat belt norms for rear passengers would be more effective than making an alarm go off when people do not belt up, according to officials at car manufacturers. Their comments came a day after Nitin Gadkari, the Union minister for road transport and highways, announced that seat belt alarms would be made mandatory for passengers in the rear seat of a car. "We have taken a decision that there will be a provision that the car seat belt alarm should beep when the rear seat rider is not wearing a seat belt. "We will impose fines if rear seat riders are not wearing seat belts.
Even as India's internet base continues to widen, with the country set to have over 900 internet users by 2025, a parallel rise in cyber threats has become a matter of huge concern. Experts say that the sudden surge in digital adoption left little time to develop a cybersecurity backbone for the country. This has put large amounts of data at risk.
Choosing the right wallet is crucial, alerts Bindisha Sarang.
Finding enough shows to air, creating content that gets people to pay and watch and wooing advertisers back into the fold are going to be the biggest challenges the M&E industry faces.
The online channel has only been successful in making inroads in metro cities.
NDTV has sued Nielsen for allegedly manipulating viewership data in favour of channels that were willing to give bribes.
Manchester United has doubled its global fanbase to 659 million over five years to reinforce its standing as the world's most popular soccer club, according to a survey.
The other dominant fear among the people is the irrational behaviour of people, once the lockdown is lifted.
This will cost the government Rs 3.1 trillion, about 10 per cent of its annual expenditure, and higher than any other spending item in its Budget.
From paints to apparel and lifestyle majors, brewers, distillers and fragrance makers have stepped into the market, even as the frontline companies including FMCG players, pharma and healthcare majors were the first to seize the opportunity created by Covid-19.
Relaunched and indigenous brands fare better in India.
Armed with deep customer knowledge, low operational overheads, new funding opportunities and help from online marketplaces, the local brand is turning David to every Goliath that steps into its neighbourhood, says T E Narasimhan.
Smart positioning, continued communication and a global design language have played a big role, say experts
Women leaders, succession planners and lawyers say doors in family businesses are opening but a stronger push is needed.
More than one billion television viewers watched last year's World Cup soccer final between Germany and Argentina in Brazil although audience figures for the tournament were slightly down because of adverse kickoff times, according to a FIFA report.
As 4G internet completes coverage of the entire country, rural markets have become the primary generator of sales.
TaxiForSure's Aprameya Radhakrishna's new venture, Vokal, is a peer-to-peer content generation platform that is a cross between Reddit and Quora.
are in the process of building one at the Jio Center in Bandra Kurla Complex where the Maker Maxity building used to be. "This theatre will be on the top of the mall and should be able to accommodate 300 cars, and is expected to open sometime in January or February next year.
It has 18.9 per cent share of the market, down from 22.6 per cent for the third quarter of 2018 while Xiaomi has 27.1 per cent share.
What is the guarantee that another Trump will not arise and reach out to the American people directly? The fact of the matter is that Trump's support base remains the envy of any American politician, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Trust today means more than the belief that a brands' products will work as advertised; consumers want to believe that the company truly cares for its customers.
While P Muralidhar Rao, BJP general secretary, says, 'Digital electioneering is here to stay until the elections in 2021,' the BJP's rallies in Bihar will not be confined to cyberspace. Its strategists have devised other ways of getting around the hygiene protocol that Covid-19 has entailed.
Trends like bundled offers and 4G-LTE feature phones could become mainstream in 2018
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