MAM
92 per cent of Indians concerned about the environment: Ipsos India sustainability segmentation survey 2024
Mumbai: A new survey by Ipsos on sustainability, in the backdrop of heightened emphasis on ESG and the quest to save the environment from further damage shows deep concern among Indians for the environment with at least 92 per cent of those polled stating they are concerned and further two thirds believing that our planet was at risk.
Impactful actions – awareness misplaced
Interestingly, the survey revealed, consumers’ actions while well intended were not the actions needed for greater impact. 7 in 10 claimed to know the actions needed to tackle climate change, but they were wrong.
Urban Indians held the view that less packaging, buying fewer items and recycling would be the best actions for saving the planet, but they were seen to be low in impact. On the contrary some of the actions perceived to be low in impact by urban Indians, were seen to be the actions most impactful, but awareness and the implications of those actions had low perception among Indians, particularly for living car free, efficient cooking and efficient housing. Adopting renewable electricity was high on perception and impact.
The survey was done using the Ipsos IndiaBus platform, which is a monthly omnibus study, which runs multiple surveys for clients (the details are provided below).
Activists, busy bystanders and disengaged denialists segments
The survey classified Indians among three segments basis their level of concern and actions they are taking to mitigate their impact on environment.
The largest group of Indians emerged as Busy Bystanders (41 per cent), who held the view that climate change was over blown; they were too caught up in their daily life and environment came out to be a low priority area. The second segment was of Disengaged Denialists (24 per cent), believing environment was not that big a concern and were less inclined to taking any environmental action. And the 3rd segment was of activists (23 per cent), with the belief that environment is at a critical stage and the world must act now.
Group service line leader, public affairs, corporate reputation, ESG and CSR Parijat Chakraborty said, “Our survey shows that Indians mostly do lip service towards their concern for the planet and the environment. So, while they say they are concerned, when we assessed them on their concern vs actual action, most of them were seen to fizzle out. In fact only the segment of consumers named Activists were the torchbearers of planet saviours. Busy Bystanders and Disengaged Denialists were seen to be the disinterested segments with no affinity for environment actions.”
What can marketers do to engage with these three cohorts?
The survey also revealed insights on how marketers could engage with the three segments of consumers.
“Given Activists’ high sustainable consciousness, they are best suited for all sustainable brand options and choices. EVs, sustainable clothing and brands with sustainability in their DNA. Disengaged Denialists who were less interested in environment actions could be wooed by providing products with sustainability as a co-benefit. Also by pulling in the sustainability discourse into the things they like or like to do. Busy Bystanders are the working class with sheer paucity of time and also, they carry some bit of guilt of zilch action on environment. So brands that conserve energy, use recycled packaging or local sourced ingredients will appeal to this cohort,” stated Ipsos India executive director Deepti Chandna.
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
