Brands
Mirchi associates with Delhi govt on substance use
MUMBAI: Radio Mirchi has culminated the second season of Mirchi Degree and educated students on the issues of substance use.
Radio Mirchi 98.3FM – a leading radio station, saw the culmination of its flagship campaign, ‘Mirchi Degree’ to to boost the confidence of every student. This year, Mirchi has associated with the Government of Delhi to talk about the sensitive issue of usage of drugs by college students.
The campaign, which started last year, is curated to encourage students to believe that it is not only the formal degree that will take them to heights but the unconventional talent hidden in them also plays a vital role to achieve success. This year, the campaign was endorsed by celebrities such as Ajay Devgn, Varun Dhawan, Raj Kumar Rao, Ileana D’Cruz, Shreyas Talpade and Esha Gupta. The initiative was aimed to address the issue of substance use and compelled students to get high only on their talent and not on any substance.
As part of the activity format, fully branded activity vehicle was deployed in campuses in Delhi/NCR including elite colleges like SRCC from the Delhi University North Campus. Led by RJ Naved, Radio Mirchi team along with the Mirchidaar RJs invited the students to showcase their talent through Live performances inside the bus and provided them a chance to earn a Mirchi Degree.
With the students posting funky pictures on their social media handles, RJ Naved was seen entertaining and cheering them.
As part of the drive, Mirchi spoke to several addicts, peddlers, doctors, NGOs to shed light on the growing concern. To spread the message, the Mirchi team conducted both on-air and on-ground activities to college campuses in Delhi NCR.
Radio Mirchi cluster head Pritesh Chothani said, “The idea that passion is as important as education, we want all students to be confident of their talent and stay away from substance. Talent will take you far, anything else will not.”
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AI becomes key tool for Indian travellers, Agoda report finds
68 per cent plan to use AI for trips as 33 per cent already rely on it.
MUMBAI: Holiday planning is getting a software upgrade less “Where should we go?” and more “What does the algorithm say?” Indian travellers are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to map their journeys, with new data from Agoda’s 2026 Travel Outlook Report suggesting that AI is fast becoming central to how trips are imagined, planned and booked.
While 33 per cent of respondents said they already use AI tools for travel planning, a far larger 68 per cent indicated they are likely to rely on it for their next trip pointing to a sharp acceleration in adoption in a market already comfortable with digital-first travel.
What travellers want from AI, however, goes well beyond basic search. The report shows 38 per cent are looking for recommendations on local attractions and activities, while 37 per cent expect personalised itineraries. Destination discovery remains a key use case at 29 per cent, with dining suggestions (23 per cent) and budget management (22 per cent) also emerging as practical applications.
The shift reflects a broader change in expectations AI is no longer a novelty but a planning companion expected to work across every stage of the journey, from inspiration to execution.
Trust levels appear to be keeping pace. Nearly 88 per cent of respondents said they either trust or feel neutral about AI-generated recommendations, including 53 per cent who expressed clear confidence. This builds on earlier trends, with Agoda’s 2025 survey showing nine in ten Indian travellers already using apps to book travel suggesting AI adoption is more evolution than disruption.
The company has been testing this appetite through initiatives such as its 2025 AI-powered Vacation Planner campaign, which generated customised itineraries and visuals based on user inputs, delivered with a layer of celebrity-led engagement.
For platforms like Agoda, which aggregates more than 6 million properties, over 130,000 flight routes and 300,000 travel activities, AI offers a way to navigate scale without overwhelming users turning abundance into relevance.
As AI continues to embed itself into everyday decision-making, India is emerging as a market where travel planning is not just going digital, but decisively intelligent.
