MAM
Tier one town residents happiest at 86 per cent: Ipsos IndiaBus Happiness Monitor
Mumbai: The Ipsos IndiaBus Happiness Monitor of November 2023 shows at least three in four urban Indians (75 per cent) claim to be happy – a four per cent increase from the previous month. Interestingly, happiness has surged across all parameters used in the survey to gauge happiness.
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Who are the happiest?
Citizens residing in tier1 towns are the happiest at 86 per cent. Followed by tier2 towns (77 per cent), tier3 towns (72 per cent) and least happy were those living in the metros (68 per cent). Retired/ military/ prefer not to answer citizens (80 per cent) are the happiest, followed by full time parents and homemakers (79 per cent), self-employed (77 per cent), students (74 per cent), full/ part time employed (73 per cent) and the unemployed were least happy (53 per cent). SEC A (79 per cent) and SEC C (79 per cent) were happier than SEC B (70 per cent). Those with low education (76 per cent) were happier than those with high education (74 per cent). Interestingly, citizens in west zone were happier (83 per cent) than those in north zone (78 per cent). South zone (69 per cent) and east zone (67 per cent) were comparatively less happy – though both east zone and south zone have witnessed a double-digit increase in happiness levels over October 2023, of 16 per cent and 11 per cent respectively. Women were happier (78 per cent) vis-à-vis men (73 per cent). And students have seen a five per cent drop in happiness in Nov, from the previous month.
Biggest contributors to happiness – what makes Indians happy?
Happiness is not just an emotion or a state of mind. The survey shows happiness manifests in different aspects of life. Across all our happiness waves, family has been the biggest contributor to happiness and in the Nov wave as well, family is the biggest source of happiness (78 per cent), followed by health (72 per cent), friends’ circle (67 per cent), employment/work (67 per cent), colleagues, business associates (65 per cent), neighbours (63 per cent), economic/financial conditions (57 per cent), situation of the country (55 per cent) and situation of the world (51 per cent).
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Elucidating on the findings of the Nov wave of the Happiness Monitor, Ipsos India Group service line leader, public affairs, corporate reputation, ESG and CSR Parijat Chakraborty said, “Happiness levels have surged overall and across cities and demographics in November. From October end to mid-November, it was festival time which is a big mood booster. There are celebrations in the family, cities are decked up to radiate festive fervour, whether it is Durga Puja, Diwali, people wear their best clothes, bond with family and it is the time for shopping and family outings. Tier1 citizens are the happiest as they have the best of both worlds. Good jobs, income and recreation options of big cities, without the pressure of big cities or the higher cost of living of big cities (metros). Retired/ military & those preferring not to answer people are the happiest as they have the comforts of their savings and facilities abound, giving them enough personal time to relax and utilize the time to indulge in pursuits of leisure, likewise for full time parents and homemakers. Family remains the focal point of happiness for most Indians. Followed by health, friends, work etc. It is a package deal. Happiness is not just an emotion. It depends on several factors and disruption in one area can pull happiness levels down.”
‘It will be good to see if Indians can sustain the current momentum of happiness to the next month,” added Chakraborty.
Methodology:
Ipsos IndiaBus is a monthly pan India omnibus (which also runs multiple client surveys), that uses a structured questionnaire and is conducted by Ipsos India on diverse topics among 2200+ respondents from SEC A, B and C households, covering adults of both genders from all four zones in the country. The survey is conducted in metros, Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns, providing a more robust and representative view of urban Indians. The respondents were polled face to face and online. We have city-level quota for each demographic segments that ensure the waves are identical and no additional sampling error. The data is weighted by demographics and city-class population to arrive at national average. The data collection is done in every month and the results are calculated on two-months rolling sample.
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.
