iWorld
Budget 2020: BharatNet boost to have positive impact on OTT platforms
MUMBAI: While the media and entertainment industry is heading towards a digital future on the back of streaming services, budget 2020 seems to bolster it. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday proposed to allocate Rs 6,000 crore for the BharatNet programme in 2020-21. The boost to broadband connectivity in rural areas is making OTT platforms hopeful about uptake in online video consumption.
"Our vision is that all public institutions at the gram panchayat level such as anganwadis, health and wellness centres, government schools, PDS outlets, post offices and police stations — all will be provided digital connectivity. The fibre to the home (FTTH) connection through BharatNet will link 100,000 gram panchayats this year itself," Sitharaman said.
ALTBalaji CEO Nachiket Pantvaidya appreciates the step to promote digital connectivity through its BharatNet programme and connecting 100,000-gram panchayats through optical fibre network. According to him, this is one more important step taken in the direction of achieving the vision of a digital India where rural India gets placed on the digital map.
The over-the-top platforms are heavily reliant on internet connectivity for better penetration. Moreover, numerous industry experts and reports have suggested that tier II and tier III cities, rural areas are the next frontier of growth for OTT platforms. Hence, the move will help them to expand more in those markets.
"We appreciate the efforts of the government to boost the digital ecosystem in the country. The increased focus on improving connectivity under the BharatNet scheme and the emphasis on artificial intelligence will allow OTT players to offer bespoke and personalised solutions to consumers. Additionally, the impetus to the smartphone manufacturing industry will make internet consumption accessible to a wider section of Indian society that will expand the scope of revenues for OTT players. The allocation of Rs 8,000 crore for setting up the National Mission on Quantum Computing and Technology will also boost the development of the industry by making resources cost-effective," Gaana CEO Prashan Agarwal stated.
“It is now a cliché – “data is the new oil” and it is true that analytics, fintech and internet of things (IOT) are changing the way we deal with our lives. To take advantage of this, I propose to bring out soon a policy to enable the private sector to build Data Centre parks throughout the country. It will enable our firms to skillfully incorporate data in every step of their value chains,” Sitharaman added.
White Rivers Media chief executive officer and co-founder Shrenik Gandhi said that data and digital occupied the centre piece of the budget. He added that the focus on IoT, Data Parks, AI shall make India a strong contender amongst the top digital economies, globally and the ambitious fibre to home proposal should get the next 100 million in the digital universe soon.
“75 per cent of the users that come on to the internet for the first time between now and the next few years are going to come from tier II and tier III cities as per various industry reports and the vast majority of them are regional language native speakers who don’t necessarily converse in English or Hindi as their language of preference. Anything that is done to bring them to the digital foray essentially allows regional platform like Hoichoi to influentially expand the addressable user base over time and this is a welcome move. Next set of users are to be brought in the digital fold and it not just the combination of digital apps that will benefit from this, it’s also the information and social media apps that will benefit from wider availability of the internet at the grassroot level,” Hoichoi co-founder Vishnu Mohta commented.
"Budget 2020's revised fiscal deficit target of 3.8 per cent of the GDP seems more realistic and focus on spends/ benefits was required to boost the economy. The thrust on entrepreneurship and tax regulations for both, startups and taxpayers is a move in the right direction. India is the third largest startup hub globally and the announcement of an investment clearance cell to provide end-to-end support to startup founders will encourage more youth to be job creators. Further, the ability to defer taxes on ESOPs will democratise wealth creation for startup employees, ensuring the right talent is benefitted. Finally, the decision to grant 100% tax exemptions to sovereign wealth funds on their investment in priority sectors will provide the much needed funding boost to the sector and create value in the longer run,” Pocket Aces VP of Finance and Operations Kunal Lakhara said.
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.
