iWorld
MTS Launches #IndiaForShiva movement on social media
MUMBAI: Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd. (SSTL), that provides telecom services under the MTS brand has launched a movement on social media to bring all countrymen together to support Shiva Keshavan – Olympian from India who is set to compete in “Luge” at the Sochi Winter Olympic Games. MTS has been actively supporting Shiva Keshavan in his quest for Gold. Given that Shiva Keshavan would be competing at Sochi as a ‘Citizen Olympian’ under the Olympics flag in place of the Indian Tricolour; the IndiaForShiva campaign has been rolled out as a show of support for the champion luger.
According to Leonid Musatov, Chief Marketing & Sales Officer – MTS India, “MTS as a brand has always believed in providing a platform to talented youngsters, who bet on themselves, challenge reality and don’t let the present come in way of their future. We have been consistently supporting Shiva Keshavan for the last two years in his journey to the Sochi Olympics. We have always believed in Shiva and his dedication to the sport of Luge, despite the sport not being as popular as some of the other sports in the country. Now, when the chance to win the Olympic medal is so close, it is time that we all stand behind Shiva and cheer for him”.
The IndiaForShiva campaign by MTS India is an extensive social media movement to generate support and wishes for Shiva Keshavan. The campaign would encompass specially designed twitter feeds, engagement activities on Facebook and other social media channels.
MTS Brand Ambassador and Winter Olympian, Shiva Keshavan said “As an athlete, winning an Olympic Gold medal is my biggest dream. I am looking forward to the Winter Olympics in Sochi and hopefully this would be my chance to bring the medal home. I would like to thank MTS India and all my fans for supporting me through the IndiaForShiva campaign. It is heartening to see my countrymen getting aware about the sport of Luge and cheering for me as I get set to compete on 8th and 9th February 2014”.
e-commerce
Visa report tracks rise of India’s affluent, experience-led spending
Affluent base doubles to 130 lakh, travel 58 per cent of elite spends.
MUMBAI: In India’s new luxury playbook, it’s less about owning more and more about living better. A new whitepaper by Visa Consulting and Analytics (VCA) maps a decisive shift in India’s affluent economy, where spending is becoming more intentional, experience-led, and closely tied to personal identity rather than pure income growth.
Titled India’s Affluent Economy 2025–2026, the report draws on a Visa-commissioned Yougov study and VisaNet data across travel, dining, retail and lifestyle categories. The headline number is hard to miss: individuals earning over Rs 10 lakh annually have nearly doubled from 69 lakh to 130 lakh, significantly expanding the country’s discretionary spending base.
But it’s not just about scale, it’s about behaviour. As consumers move up the affluence ladder, discretionary categories are taking a larger share of credit card spends, positioning cards as key enablers of premium, lifestyle-driven consumption.
The geography of wealth is shifting too. Affluence is no longer confined to metros such as Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, with cities like Ahmedabad, Surat, Jaipur and Lucknow increasingly mirroring metro consumption patterns.
The report highlights a clear pivot from ownership to access. More than 50 per cent of affluent consumers now use cards for elite memberships, while 7 in 10 are drawn to limited-edition drops and curated collections. Increasingly, luxury is defined by seamless access be it concierge-led travel or curated dining where time saved is as valuable as money spent.
Spending patterns reinforce this shift. Among the ultra-elite, travel accounts for 58 per cent of discretionary spends, far outpacing retail and luxury combined at 28 per cent. Cross-border spending penetration stands at 63 per cent, signalling a growing global outlook among India’s affluent.
Closer home, indulgence is becoming routine. Nearly 4 in 5 affluent consumers dine at premium establishments at least three times a year, while 1 in 4 visit luxury venues more than five times annually. Dining spends are also climbing, with Rs 20,000 emerging as a new entry-level benchmark per experience and Rs 50,000 marking premium territory.
Retail, meanwhile, is becoming more selective. Three in four affluent consumers make a high-end purchase at least once a quarter, while one in four shops premium every two weeks. Luxury retail intensity is also rising, with 2 in 5 consumers spending over Rs 5 lakh annually, and a smaller but significant segment exceeding Rs 10 lakh.
Technology and wellness are carving out new roles in this ecosystem. High-end gadgets now see average spends of Rs 60,000 or more per purchase, while ultra-elite consumers are eight times more likely to visit spas and show five times higher engagement with cosmetic stores than non-affluent groups.
The broader takeaway is structural. Affluent consumers are no longer buying products, they are buying ecosystems. Integrated experiences across travel, dining, wellness and payments are becoming central to how this segment lives and spends.
As India’s affluent base expands beyond metros and aligns more closely with global consumption patterns, the real opportunity lies not just in size, but in speed. For brands, the message is clear: relevance will be defined by how early and how seamlessly, they plug into this evolving lifestyle economy.
