MAM
Indians are strong votaries of Populism & Nativism: Ipsos Global Survey
MUMBAI: According to a new survey by Ipsos christened Populist and Nativist Sentiment 2019, the survey provides an interesting peek into views of Indians, about their beliefs on macro issues, especially about governance and immigrants with a strong sentiment emerging for Populism and Nativism.
Interestingly, only 4 in 10 (40%) Indians believe that our society is broken. The sentiment is more profound at the global level, with over half of those polled (54%), across the 27 markets, believing that the society is broken; with some markets displaying alarming levels of disruption in society – particularly, Poland (84%), South Africa (78%), Brazil (74%) and Spain (69%).
The System is broken.
All is not hunky dory.
The good news for India ends there. So, while the society is not broken, the system is.
And there is a high level of disgruntlement palpable among Indians for 2 reasons: One, at least 69% of Indians polled feel that the economy is rigged to favor the rich and powerful. Two, 68% Indians feel that the traditional parties and politicians do not care about them.
Populism – panacea?
There is a strong belief in populism and its effects – at least 80% of urban Indians polled believe a strong leader can wrest the country back from the rich and powerful. Further, at least 72% Indians believe that India can be fixed by a strong leader, who is willing to break the rules. However, skepticism is also seen to be rife, with at least 61% Indians complaining that the experts do not understand their lives.
Nativism – strong sentiment for empowering the natives. Inclusivity for immigrants
At least 63% Indians strongly believe that in the scenario of scarce jobs, employers should prioritize hiring natives/ locals over immigrants. Also, 49% Indians believe that immigrants tend to grab social schemes, depriving the locals, who should’ve been the beneficiaries, first. At the same time at least 35% Indians believe that as a country we would be better off if we allowed immigrants to settle in, especially those who expressed their desire to. This sentiment is the highest in India vis-à-vis all 27 global markets.
"The System is broken, is the overriding view. It favors the rich and powerful and that politicians disregard interests of the Common Man. We see affinity for a strong leader, who is unafraid in taking bold decisions (Populism) and there is also a strong desire for Nativism – empowering of locals and natives via jobs and social schemes. There is a feeling of dilution, with immigrants taking away what is rightfully of the natives. At the same time, we see acceptance for immigrants, a feeling of empathy and inclusion," says Amit Adarkar, CEO, Ipsos India and Operations Director, Asia Pacific, Ipsos.
Brands
Amazon doubles down on Anthropic with $25bn AI investment plan
Deal locks in massive compute capacity and pushes Claude deeper into AWS stack
MUMBAI: Amazon and Anthropic have significantly expanded their strategic partnership, committing to a long-term collaboration that combines billions in fresh investment with one of the largest AI infrastructure deals to date.
At the heart of the agreement is Anthropic’s plan to spend more than $100 billion over the next decade on AWS technologies. This includes access to up to 5 gigawatts of compute capacity powered by successive generations of Trainium chips, alongside tens of millions of Graviton cores. The scale signals a clear intent to future-proof the infrastructure behind its fast-growing Claude models.
In parallel, Amazon will invest $5 billion in Anthropic immediately, with the option to add up to $20 billion more tied to performance milestones. This builds on the $8 billion the tech giant has already committed to the AI firm.
The collaboration also tightens product integration. Anthropic’s full Claude Platform will now be accessible directly within AWS, allowing developers to use its native tools without leaving their existing cloud environment. The models are already widely used through Amazon Bedrock, where more than 100,000 customers are running Claude for tasks ranging from customer support to scientific research.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said, “Our custom AI silicon offers high performance at significantly lower cost for customers, which is why it’s in such hot demand.” He added that Anthropic’s long-term commitment to Trainium reflects the progress both companies have made in building scalable AI infrastructure.
Anthropic CEO and co-founder Dario Amodei said, “Our users tell us Claude is increasingly essential to how they work, and we need to build the infrastructure to keep pace with rapidly growing demand.” He noted that the partnership would help advance research while serving a rapidly expanding user base.
The two companies have already been working closely since 2023. Their joint efforts include Project Rainier, a massive AI cluster featuring hundreds of thousands of Trainium chips, now used to train and deploy newer versions of Claude. The new agreement extends this momentum, with fresh capacity expected to come online through 2026, including next-generation Trainium3 and Trainium4 chips.
Anthropic’s growth has been equally striking. The company says its annualised revenue run rate has crossed $30 billion, up sharply from about $9 billion at the end of 2025, driven by surging enterprise and consumer demand. That rapid uptake has also strained infrastructure, making this expanded deal as much about stability as it is about scale.
The partnership will also expand globally, with increased inference capacity planned across Asia and Europe, ensuring Claude’s reach keeps pace with its popularity.
From powering ride-hailing support systems to accelerating drug research workflows, Claude’s use cases continue to broaden. With this deal, Amazon and Anthropic are not just adding more compute, they are doubling down on a shared bet that AI’s next leap will be built on deeper, tighter integrations between models and infrastructure.
If the past few years were about proving the promise of generative AI, this alliance suggests the next phase will be about building it at industrial scale.
