MAM
Expectations Budget ’22: Fuel prices, medical expenses remain major concerns shows Kantar survey
Mumbai: With the third wave of pandemic raging on, the majority of consumers expect the government to increase focus on strengthening the healthcare infrastructure, showed the latest pre-budget survey conducted by data insights company Kantar.
According to the survey conducted across 12 cities, healthcare tops consumers’ concerns, followed by mounting medical expenses, and fuel prices. In a telling indicator of the increased health care expenses over the last two years, 53 per cent of consumers, especially those from non-metro cities, said they expect an increase in deductions for their medical/health insurance.
The rising fuel prices too have also taken a toll. At least 72 per cent of the people surveyed expect the government to bring petrol and diesel under the ambit of GST to bring down the fuel costs. With increased focus on climate change and sustainable living, 60 per cent of consumers expect the government to prioritise subsidies on electric vehicles in the coming year.
Tax Deductions
With respect to consumer expectations in terms of tax deductions, investments under 80C covering multiple investment options emerged at the first rank with 60 per cent claiming they want an increase in deductions from the same. The younger, affluent salaried class consumers seemed to have a higher desire (65 per cent) for this, as compared to mass consumers (57 per cent), according to the survey.
Home Loan EMI emerged third with 39 per cent of consumers seeking an increase in tax deduction on their Home Loan EMI’s. A higher skew for this increase was seen in metros at 41 per cent.
“As we step into the third year of the pandemic, the public wants the government to further invest in public health infrastructure and other favourable policies like tax deductions for insurance, which help alleviate the burden of medical expenses. Concerns about fuel prices come through, as does a desire that the government should help us wean ourselves off dependency on dirty and ever more expensive fossil fuels, through e-vehicle subsidies,” said Kantar executive managing director- South Asia, Insights Division Deepender Rana.
Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency as an investment avenue is expected to continue making noise this year as well. Intention to invest in cryptocurrency also showed a jump to 32 per cent, as against 19 per cent in July 2021, possibly driven by awareness and exposure that advertising and celebrity endorsements have generated over the last few months. Millennials seem to be keener on trying this new investment avenue as their intention to invest is higher at 32 per cent as compared to those in the age group of 36-55 years which is at 26 per cent.
“As cryptocurrencies take off and the government mulls a tax on crypto transactions, investors want the government to play a role in encouraging yet regulating these innovative finance instruments through India’s own cryptocurrency,” added Rana.
Majority expect India to launch its own official cryptocurrency in 2022. There is an overwhelming preference towards investing in India’s cryptocurrency with 79 per cent claiming to invest in that over existing cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin etc. This is driven by the perceptions of it being more secure due to clear regulations laid down by RBI.
Interestingly, the survey also indicates that consumers are leaning towards adopting the new tax regime since it came into existence on 1 April 2020. At least 55 per cent said that they intend to choose the new tax regime in 2022.
The survey mapped consumer sentiments and expectations from the union budget, scheduled to be unveiled on 1 February. As many as 1419 consumers aged between 21-55 years including a mix of salaried and business owners as well as mass and affluent class from the metro & non-metro cities were interviewed from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Indore, Patna, Jaipur, and Lucknow.
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.
