MAM
Being self-reliant means much more than just going vocal for local
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: A country must be self-reliant irrespective of a pandemic, TERI School of Advanced Studies vice-chancellor (Actg) Manipadma Datta told Indiantelevision.com while sharing with us his thoughts on the “Vocal for Local” initiative of the Indian government. He insisted that one can’t link the idea of self-reliance with just the promotion of local brands but the term has a far deeper connotation that one needs to understand, as a business, as a consumer, and also as a policymaker.
So what does the term self-reliance mean and how is it different from the idea of vocal for local?
FCB India chairman CEO Rohit Ohri explains, “While it (vocal for local) puts a great focus on local brands, popularising them and making people (consumer) more conscious, I think, it also has to be balanced (for being self-reliant) because you need to be globally competitive as well. The ultimate goal is to support the economy, after all. On the one hand, you are inviting global companies to set up factories here and on the other hand, if you ask people to buy only locally, it comes out as a contradictory statement.”
DAN India CEO Anand Bhadkamkar adds, “Self-reliant is very similar to the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. One of the major challenges we are facing due to Covid2019 is that there has been too much dependence on external factors. In my opinion, self-reliant is being self-sufficient, being able to fulfil our growth ambitions. It does not mean we are cutting out from other countries, but it means to be independent for our core requirements and be able to sustain on our own. The initiative does not suggest India be excluded from global trade but it is to be best at what we do and to excel against others.”
Digitalkites SVP Amil Lall says, “When I am talking about the self-reliance perspective, which PM Modi also spoke about in his speech, it is about doing end-to-end things on your own. It basically means you are independent and you don’t need any external collaborators to partner. According to PM Modi India is a huge population with extremely talented people and why don’t we create a product on our own and start supplying it across the world. What India is today China was in the ’90s. For us to succeed we will need to collaborate, we will have to partner and take everybody along.”
However, there are certainly other factors that the government needs to address, “As an industry, we need to have less bureaucratic intervention from the government, to have a hassle-free business environment and to have all possible financial aid coming their way. Financial web startups will need all kinds of support in case they fail. Just saying self-reliant is not going to help. How it will get implemented is critical.”
Metro Shoes MD and CEO Farah Malik Bhanji is optimistic that the endeavour will help encourage Indian consumers to buy local brands. At the same time, she feels that more support is needed from the government end to address demand-side issues. “The government has announced multiple economic packages and loans, primarily to support MSMEs. Most of the incentives, however, seem to be on the supply side of things, and there are not many incentives to boost demand from consumers, especially as many of them may be looking at pay cuts.”
“It is very important for the government and the industry to work closely to understand the requirements to resume normalcy and reduce the economic impact. It is essential to understand the support the footwear industry needs to survive and sustain through the pandemic and build consumer trust to resume sales. The industry itself is collaborating to present a clear view of the government in terms of what may be needed,” she adds.
Dineout co-founder and CEO Ankit Mehrotra further shares, “I think this is a great initiative by the government. As a business, Dineout is already selling its solutions to five other countries, and we are hoping to extend it more but we will need a lot more support from the government.”
Elaborating how the move to become self-reliant will help the Indian economy at large, Bhadkamkar shares, “According to me, in the long-term, it will definitely benefit India, as we are a land of huge population and a young workforce; which will generate exponential demand within the Indian market, as we move forward from Covid2019. And thus, we will start delivering to the best of our capabilities within the country and out to the world as well. Additionally, there are also several international companies who are likely to bring their base to India because of likely developments in global alignments, infrastructure and facilities as per government’s plans. This will further boost the Indian economy in the long run. A strong economy and cordial economic relations will further avoid trade tussles with other countries.”
Bhanji says, “Every crisis is succeeded by periods of growth. We are hopeful that the pandemic will also be controlled in time and all of us will witness a better tomorrow. The pandemic has made us realize the importance of being self-reliant and provides us with an opportunity to showcase our capabilities to the world, especially in terms of manufacturing. This will only help the economy grow. This will also open up opportunities for many companies to move their manufacturing to India and support the economy. At a time of such global change, there may be a chance of tussles, but a greater chance of forming better partnerships as well.”
MAM
India’s financial sector spent less on TV ads in 2025 but flooded the internet
Banks, insurers and lenders cut tv ads as digital jumps, LIC and Muthoot lead tv and Axis Bank tops online
MUMBAI: India’s banking, financial services and insurance sector, one of the most prolific advertisers in the country, delivered a split verdict on media in 2025. It spent less on television, held its nerve in print, turned up the volume on radio and deluged the internet with a ferocity that left every other medium looking pedestrian. The picture that emerges from TAM AdEx’s cross-media report for the BFSI sector is of an industry in transition, still wedded to the news bulletin but increasingly seduced by the algorithm.
Television: a retreat with caveats
TV ad volumes for the BFSI sector fell 16 per cent in 2025 compared with 2024, a sharp reversal after two years of consistent growth that had pushed volumes 16 per cent above 2021 levels by 2023 and a further 7 per cent higher by 2024. Within 2025 itself, the drop was concentrated in the middle of the year: the second and third quarters saw ad volumes slide 35 per cent each against the first quarter, with a partial recovery of 13 per cent in the fourth.
The retreat did not reshuffle the deck. Life insurance retained first place among TV categories with 19 per cent of ad volumes, mortgage loans held second with 16 per cent, and the top ten categories together accounted for 82 per cent of all BFSI television advertising. The dominance of news channels was equally pronounced: news claimed 68 per cent of ad volumes, general entertainment channels a distant 14 per cent and movies 12 per cent. Together, news and GEC captured 82 per cent of the sector’s television spend. News bulletins alone took 48 per cent of programme-genre volumes, with feature films second at 12 per cent. Prime time, between 6pm and 11pm, drew 34 per cent of ad volumes, followed by afternoon at 22 per cent and morning at 20 per cent. A full 82 per cent of all ads ran between 20 and 40 seconds.
Life Insurance Corporation of India was the sector’s biggest TV spender with 11 per cent of ad volumes. Muthoot Financial Enterprises came second with 9 per cent, followed by National Payments Corporation of India at 6 per cent, Tata AIG General Insurance at 5 per cent and State Bank of India at 5 per cent. The top ten advertisers together accounted for 51 per cent of total TV volumes. Three names were new to the top ten in 2025: Tata AIG General Insurance, IIFL Finance and Tata Capital. At brand level, Muthoot Finance Loan Against Gold led with 9 per cent share, Tata AIG Health Insurance entered the top ten for the first time, and the top ten brands together contributed 35 per cent of ad volumes.
Print: the long climb continues
Print told a different story. Ad space for the BFSI sector has grown every year since 2021, rising 16 per cent in 2022, 30 per cent in 2023, 51 per cent in 2024 and 64 per cent in 2025, all measured against a 2021 baseline. Within 2025, ad space was flat in the second quarter but surged 46 per cent in the third and 33 per cent in the fourth compared with the first. Life insurance led print categories with 21 per cent of ad space, followed by mutual funds and banking services and products at 13 per cent each, and corporate financial institutes at 11 per cent. The top ten categories together took 82 per cent of print ad space. LIC led print advertisers with 6 per cent share, and the top ten together covered just 19 per cent of ad space, a reflection of how fragmented print spending remains. Three new entrants joined the top ten in 2025, with Billion Brains Garage Ventures the only exclusive presence not seen in 2024’s list. In the top ten brands, LIC dominated with a 2 per cent share, while Nippon India Mutual Fund rose to third position from fourth in 2024. English accounted for 62 per cent of print ad space, Hindi for 20 per cent. Business and finance publications took 59 per cent of the genre split. The south zone led regional spending with 33 per cent of print ad space, Bangalore topping that zone, while New Delhi and Mumbai were the leading cities nationally.
Radio: louder than ever
Radio ad volumes for the BFSI sector have climbed steadily, rising 12 per cent above 2021 levels in 2023, 36 per cent in 2024 and 45 per cent in 2025. The quarterly pattern within 2025 was volatile: a sharp drop of 43 per cent in the second quarter and 42 per cent in the third, followed by a near-full recovery in the fourth. Life insurance led radio categories with 22 per cent of volumes, banking services and products second at 14 per cent and corporate NBFCs third at 11 per cent. LIC of India held its position as the leading radio advertiser with 20 per cent of ad volumes; the top ten radio advertisers together covered 69 per cent. Muthoot Financial Enterprises led radio brands with 10 per cent share, five of the top ten brands belonged to LIC alone, and SBI Mutual Fund made a remarkable leap to fifth position from 272nd in 2024. Evening and morning time-bands together captured 84 per cent of radio ad volumes, with evenings at 44 per cent and mornings at 40 per cent. Maharashtra was the leading state for radio BFSI advertising with 18 per cent share; Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh together accounted for 43 per cent.
Digital: the five-times surge
If one number defines the 2025 BFSI advertising story, it is five. Digital ad impressions for the sector multiplied fivefold between 2021 and 2025, having already doubled in 2023 and doubled again in 2024 before the 2025 leap. Within the year, impressions dipped 19 per cent in the second quarter and 12 per cent in the third before recovering 8 per cent above the first quarter by the fourth. Banking services and products led digital categories with 27 per cent of impressions, life insurance and credit cards tied at 19 per cent each, and securities and sharebroking organisations fell from first place in 2024 to fourth in 2025. Axis Bank was the runaway leader among digital advertisers with 12 per cent of impressions, followed by ICICI Bank at 9 per cent, IDFC First Bank at 7 per cent and Kotak Mahindra Bank at 6 per cent. The top ten digital advertisers covered 59 per cent of impressions, and seven of them were new entrants compared with 2024, signalling rapid churn in the digital spending hierarchy. At brand level, Axis Bank led with 9 per cent, ICICI HPCL Super Saver Credit Card vaulted to third place from 921st in 2024, and six of the top ten digital brands were new to the list. Programmatic buying accounted for 91 per cent of all digital BFSI transactions; combined with ad networks, it captured 96 per cent.
The data from TAM AdEx paints the portrait of a sector that still believes in the power of the television news bulletin to sell insurance to the masses, but increasingly knows that the next generation of borrowers, investors and cardholders is scrolling, not watching. The race is now on to reach them before the algorithm serves up someone else’s loan offer first.
