Brands
Love gets serious: Indian women choose commitment
MUMBAI: Looks like love in India has stopped playing hard to get. A new study by homegrown dating app Aisle shows that 97 per cent of Indian women now prioritise commitment, signalling a clear shift from casual dating to meaningful relationships. The report, aptly titled The Commitment Decade, dives deep into how modern Indians swipe, match, and marry, and it turns out, commitment is the new cool.
The study, based on insights from 3,400 urban singles across metros like Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi and Pune, reveals a generational mood swing. While nine in ten millennial women now prefer serious connections, 80 per cent of men are catching up, with commitment rates rising steadily with age.
“People are done with endless swiping,” said Aisle Network head Chandni Gaglani. “Today, real connections, emotional intelligence and shared values matter more than ever. Indians are rediscovering romance that balances ambition with authenticity.”
Beyond love and labels, mental health and emotional maturity are reshaping the dating landscape. Two-thirds of Gen Z women say they would end a relationship over mental health issues, while one in three Indians admit they’ve walked away for the same reason. Equality is also finding its way to the first date, over half of women prefer splitting the bill.
And while AI may be rewriting everything from work to art, it’s yet to take over the heart. Only 45 per cent of men say they’d trust AI in matchmaking, and even then, only with human verification.
Astrology, on the other hand, has lost its celestial hold, seven in ten Indians now put compatibility before horoscopes.
As digital dating moves from taboo to tradition, Aisle’s 30 million members and three million success stories reflect a nation ready to date with purpose. From flings to forever, India’s singles are proving that the next big trend in love is sincerity.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
