Budget
Esha Media Research sees surge in demand of Railway Budget 2014 news clips
KOLKATA: As the Union Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda started presenting his maiden Rail Budget in Lok Sabha on 8 July, Esha Media Research, a media monitoring and research company, saw an increase in inquiries, seeking news clips of the Railway Budget.
The enquiries were for news clips in parts or as a whole from different stakeholders and interested parties across the ecosystem including big information technology (IT) companies and foreign direct investors (FDIs). The BJP-led government has mooted railway digitisation and foreign investment to improve the country’s railway system.
Esha Media Research says that it currently monitors 140 channels across the nation in all languages. “We are tracking the entire railway budget and also certain areas like IT, FDI, freights in parts,” Esha Media Research managing director R S Iyer informed indiantelevision.com.
“Tracking for railways is more as compared to last year,” Iyer said. “Apart from business houses, we are also receiving inquiries from media agencies tracking the economic content,” he added. Without mentioning the names of the clients and agencies, he revealed that there are some forums across the world that are interested to know and analyse the seriousness of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government.
“We have been tracking from morning all the government interviews across channels, and they will continue to take place till the end of prime time today, maybe until 11pm. We have also started uploading the files,” Iyer informed.
Gowda, during his budget presentation, said that his Ministry would seek cabinet approval for allowing foreign direct investment in the state-owned network, but passenger services would be excluded.
The Railway Minister proposed work stations in select trains as a pilot project this year apart from offering technology for automatic closing of doors both in main line and suburban sections.
He also said that the e-ticketing mechanism would be strengthened to allow 120,000 simultaneous bookings. The proposed overhaul of the e-ticketing system would support 7,200 tickets per minute as against the current 2,000 tickets per minute
The budget also talked about the expansion scope of online booking, including streamlining of booking on mobiles, and providing Wi-Fi in A1 and A category stations and in select trains. E-procurement would be made compulsory for procurements worth Rs 25 lakh and more said Gowda.
“Overall the budget was crisp and concise and the government played safe by not hiking the fare on the day of the budget but two weeks before it,” said a financial expert.
Stock markets have not reacted very favourably to the railway budget-the BSE closed 562 points down at 4pm today as compared to the its pre-opening at 9am. The NSE CNX Nifty index also closed 2.11 per cent lower than its opening today.
MUMBAI: Anuj Singhal, managing editor at CNBC- AWAAZ and CNBC BAJAR, operates at the sharp end of India’s business news ecosystem. With over two decades in business journalism, he has earned credibility for decoding policy, markets and macro trends for millions of Hindi-speaking investors. Equal parts newsroom leader and market analyst, he shapes editorial direction while anchoring flagship shows that break down the economy, politics and corporate India in real time.
Known for cutting through jargon and hype, Singhal blends data, discipline and clarity — a mix that has made him one of the most trusted voices in Hindi business news.
In this interaction, he discusses the Union Budget, trade deals, newsroom strategy and what truly moves markets and ratings.
• What was the single most market-moving announcement in this Budget, and why?
The most market-moving element was the clear commitment to fiscal consolidation without compromising capex. The glide path on fiscal deficit reassured bond markets and foreign investors, while sustained public investment kept growth expectations intact. That balance removed a big overhang for both equities and debt.
• Do you see this Budget as growth-oriented, fiscally cautious, or politically calibrated?
This Budget is growth-led but fiscally disciplined. It avoids overt populism, stays within macro guardrails, and prioritises medium-term competitiveness over short-term optics. Politically, it is restrained; economically, it is deliberate. The message is clear: stability over spectacle.
• How is CNBC-AWAAZ programming different, especially in decoding trade deal impact?
CNBC-AWAAZ goes beyond headline reaction. We translate policy into portfolio impact — sector by sector, stock by stock.
On trade agreements, our focus is on:
-Earnings visibility
-Export competitiveness
-Currency implications
-Margin sustainability
We don’t treat trade deals as political milestones. We decode them as profit-and-loss events for corporate India and map them to FY earnings trajectories.
• Which sectors look like clear winners and laggards over the next 12–18 months?
The next 12–18 months favour sectors aligned with structural spending and supply-side strengthening.
– Clear beneficiaries:
Capital goods and infrastructure
Manufacturing linked to export chains and PLI ecosystems
Power, defence, and logistics
– Relative laggards:
Consumption segments dependent on immediate demand revival
Businesses facing margin pressure from global volatility or pricing power erosion
This is not a momentum-driven market environment. It is execution-driven. Balance-sheet strength and order visibility will matter more than narrative.
• One headline to sum up this Budget 2026 for India Inc?
“Steady Hands, Long-Term Vision: A Budget That Rewards Discipline Over Drama”.
• What editorial filters do you apply before calling something ‘market-positive’ or ‘negative’?
We apply three structured filters:
– First: Earnings translation — does this materially change earnings visibility or cash flow outlook?
– Second: Time horizon — is the impact immediate, cyclical, or structural?
– Third: Valuation context — good news priced in or not.
If a policy doesn’t move earnings or risk perception, we don’t oversell it.
• How has business news consumption changed around big policy events?**
There has been a clear behavioural shift. They’re less interested in what was said, more in what it means for their money. There’s also a clear shift toward second-screen consumption, with digital platforms complementing live TV. The audience seeks sharper accountability. Viewers no longer accept broad optimism or pessimism — they want frameworks, numbers, and sector mapping.
• CNBC-AWAAZ decisively outperformed on Budget Day. What editorial and distribution choices mattered most?
Three deliberate strategic choices:
– Preparation depth:
We build scenarios months in advance — deficit ranges, sectoral incentives, tax calibrations — so we’re ready with analysis the moment numbers are announced.
– Language of impact:
We translate macro policy into investor-friendly Hindi without diluting complexity. That bridges accessibility and sophistication.
– Integrated distribution:
Television, YouTube, and digital platforms operate as one editorial grid, not parallel silos. This ensures continuity of narrative.We stayed analytical while others stayed reactive.
• How different is your YouTube audience from your TV audience?
The behavioural differences are subtle but important. TV audiences prioritise authority, structured debate, and context. YouTube audiences want speed, clarity, and actionable insights — often sharper, sometimes more opinionated. However, both share one expectation: accuracy. The format evolves; the trust benchmark does not.
• How do you retain viewers after the budget speech ends?
By shifting from announcements to implications.Retention comes from shifting the narrative from announcement to implication. We break down sectoral breakouts, stock-level impact, and what to do next. The speech is just the trigger; analysis is the destination.
• Is Budget Day your biggest traffic day?
It is one of the biggest — but more importantly, it is among the deepest in engagement. Viewers spend longer durations, revisit segments, and seek follow-up programming. That indicates behavioural trust, not just traffic.
• What’s the first thing you personally track on Budget Day — the speech or the markets?
The markets. They’re the fastest truth-teller. The speech explains intent; markets reveal interpretation.
• Your personal Budget-day ritual?
Early morning prep, minimal distractions, and once the speech begins, complete immersion. For me, Budget Day is less about reaction and more about reading between the lines.
• What drove your Budget-day ratings dominance, and how are Budget and trade deals shaping markets now?
Our dominance came from credibility, consistency, and clarity.
As for markets, both the Budget and recent trade deals are reinforcing a narrative of policy stability and global integration, which supports valuations even amid global volatility.
For Singhal, the market is the final judge. Policies can promise and speeches can persuade, but prices reveal what investors truly believe. As India’s investor class grows more informed and more demanding, business journalism is shifting from commentary to calibration. The premium is on clarity, context and credibility. In a landscape flooded with noise, the real edge lies in interpretation. In the end, the markets listen to numbers, not narratives , and Singhal’s craft is helping viewers tell the difference.
