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<ul><li>After India lost to Pakistan in their T20 <keyword id="8984629" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="world-cup-2021" source="Orion">World Cup 2021</keyword> opener on October 24, 2021, the internet flooded with heartbreak tweets and disappointment memes.</li><li>On Sunday, India suffered their consecutive defeat as they were hammered by New Zealand.</li><li>It is almost Diwali and yet nobody, at least on the internet, is in the mood to celebrate. The internet is still trying not to revisit their memories of Sunday.</li><li>India’s loss against New Zealand has pushed them towards the brink of a league stage exit. Most of us are now hoping that Afghanistan will beat New Zealand and India will win their remaining three fixtures against Scotland, Namibia and Afghanistan.</li><li>As the consumer sentiment plummeted, brands and advertisers also suffered. We speak to media experts to find out how India’s loss at the T20 World Cup will impact brands that have invested in the game this time and what it means for its airing partners.</li></ul>Cricket, undoubtedly, is still the most popular sport in India and it is the best way for brands to connect with their audiences. And when it is T20 World Cup, consumers in India are extra excited to cheer for the men in blue. They order merchandise, invite friends over or go to a sports bar to catch the tournament. It is more like a festival of sorts, where a whole family or group of friends get together and enjoy the game. Brands also go overboard, investing on the sport, to be where their fans are. However, what happens when the team you are cheering for fails? Consumers are heartbroken and if you are an advertising agency, all your post-victory campaigns, which you worked on for weeks, will now rot in your archives. It only takes one bad game to spoil the party and this time, our country lost twice. The India-Pakistan match dampened consumer sentiment and on Sunday, India suffered their successive defeat as they were hammered by New Zealand and consumers lost their will to work on Monday. FoodTech platform Zomato mirrored India’s sentiment in this push-notification yesterday and all I want to do is say, “Same, bro. Wait, who is chopping onions?” <div type="image" title="Screenshot_20211101-111427_One UI Home" msid="87468689" hostid="261"></div> India’s loss against New Zealand has pushed them towards the brink of a league stage exit. Now the only hope is if Afghanistan beats New Zealand and India wins the remaining three fixtures against Scotland, Namibia and Afghanistan. Vikram Sakhuja, Partner &amp; Group CEO, Madison Media &amp; OOH said, “With cricket being a national passion, the fallout is that fans swing in extremes. India's wins leads to high ratings, and losses to poor ratings. In the 2016 T20 WC the super 12s (with 5 India games) had rated 4.4 amongst males audiences. This time round I won't be surprised if India's poor performance in the crunch games leads to a tournament average of sub 3 ratings. For Advertisers who pay top dollar to advertise on this platform it will be a reasonable setback. However if India does manage a top 2 position, the interest and ratings will spike. So fans and advertisers need to pray for New Zealand getting upset by the lesser ranked teams, and India dominating over these same teams.” Sharing how this low consumer sentiment is likely to impact brand performance and viewership for the rest of the World Cup tournament this year, <keyword id="512646" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ambika-sharma" source="Orion">Ambika Sharma</keyword>, Founder and MD, Pulp Strategy said, “Match viewership will decline and by some estimates, it may go down by 50% or more as a fall out of India’s exit from the World Cup. ICC having anticipated the disappointment of fans has already decided to allow full refunds, fans are relieved I’m sure. Advertisers, on the other hand, will see a drop in viewership for the next set of matches. However, towards the flag end of the World Cup, most advertisers would have received their visibility via the spots in the matches up to the point of India’s exit. The media team may have some difficulty in selling the last-minute inventory which goes at a premium.” On the other hand, Mohit Joshi, CEO, Havas Media Group India is confident that the interest levels won't dip. He said, “India is a cricket-loving nation with a huge fan following for the sport and the legends of the cricketing world. While there are sentiments with team India involved and the loss is a huge disappointment, there are bigger sentiments associated with the game, and as a nation, we've always appreciated good cricket and good talent. As we move towards the semis and the finals, we expect to see great cricket, therefore I don’t see the interest levels going down and the love for the game should keep the viewership ticking.” Sujay Kar, EVP- Commerce, CRM, and Media, VMLY&amp;R India said that some advertisers might be in for a shock. "These defeats can lead to an early exit for India, which would have an adverse impact for brands that have invested their Advertising Dollars and the Advertising Mediums. Without India in the Knockout rounds, the viewership might go down significantly, which means lesser impressions served and lower business impact. Given that it’s peak festive season and there are no big showpiece events involving India in near future, some of the advertisers have invested heavily hoping for a big post-pandemic boost and they might be in for a rude shock," said Kar. Grashima Sahni, Senior Director- Planning and Strategy, Carat India told us about brands that might benefit from investing this year despite the early exit. She said, “With team India seeing an unpredictable early exit from the T20 world cup 2021, the invested brands are reaping lower than what they sowed and expected to reap. Investment in live cricket is more about associating with the spirit than pure media metrics. With the early exit and defeat from Pakistan, the mood in fans is dim. The deal deliveries may match the bought media metrics eventually but the qualitative factor of 'context' the brands were hoping to ride turned flat with this exit. Brands that balanced their investments with festive entertainment buys this season will benefit over the highly skewed and only cricket investing brands.” <keyword id="12452300" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sushil-anatharaman" source="Orion">Sushil Anatharaman</keyword>, Media Director, Gozoop Group said, “Brand who have taken fixed deals like title, associate and other sponsorships will definitely suffer because the reach they would have expected in the next round will go low if India doesn't qualify. However, if we miraculously do enter the next round, then again there will absolutely be no problems for these brands. Other brands who do spot buying will really not be affected by this.” Shrenik Gandhi, CEO and Co-founder, White Rivers Media reminded us that brands who spent on digital media can easily pull back their spends. He said, "Sports marketing comes at a risk-reward ratio, subject to team’s performance. There are times when teams perform really well. Those are the times when brands benefit disproportionately. And then there are times like these, when teams don't perform - those are the times when brands can pull back their expenses. Digital has the power wherein a lot of spends can be controlled on a real-time basis. That may not be the case when it comes to ATL and outdoor media. That's the benefit where there is plug and play possible. Hence, the brands that are investing heavily on digital may not suffer as much. Of course, it's a big opportunity loss because bad performance results in lesser attention and lesser attention results in lesser impressions and lesser impressions results in lesser opportunities to sell and hence lesser advertisement budgets spent." This time, the T20 World Cup has aligned with the festive season and brands are extra generous to spend on TV and OTT platforms during this time of the year. According to media reports, broadcaster Star Sports sold inventory worth more than Rs 1,000 crore this year. It has onboarded Byju’s, Dream 11, Coca Cola, Vimal, PhonePe, Havells, Netmeds, CoinDCX, JioMart, Skoda, Mondelez, Reliance Trends, Pernod, Upstox, Samsung and Cred as key sponsors. On its streaming platform Disney+ Hotstar, Dream11, Vimal Elaichi, Coinswitch, Oppo, Swiggy, Maruti, AMFI, PhonePe, Mondelez and Upstox have invested this season. During the ICC <keyword id="1268840" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="world-cup-t20" source="Orion">World Cup T20</keyword> held in 2015, the India-Pakistan match rated 11.9 TVR (TAM data M15+ ABC) on the STAR network and 2.9 TVR on Doordarshan and had garnered 288 million views. This year too, cricket dominated the conversation on Twitter. Between 01 July 2020 - 01 July 2021, there have been over 75 million conversations about cricket on the service in India. However, this time, the Twitterati is too disappointed. Yesterday, #BoycottIPL was trending on Twitter because fans alleged that the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) has commercialised cricket and is prioritising the Indian Premier League over an International League. <div type="twitter" handle="gauravmondal14" handlename="Gaurav" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/916250813063823360/dcjy4Ndh_normal.jpg" favoritecount="120" retweetcount="20" status="#BanIPLothers team mixed strategy during the break ...and then there comes indian team ..&quot;chal time mila hai ad… https://t.co/eoR5aNwFSq" createdat="1635748606000" id="1455061234961633280"></div><div type="twitter" handle="Depress7S" handlename="Samreen" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1454307245425143811/zbszQqUY_normal.jpg" favoritecount="1881" retweetcount="279" status="Indian fans on airport: Congratulations India . #BanIPL #IndiaVsNewZealand https://t.co/QQtSetHXoy" createdat="1635704110000" id="1454874604720332804"></div> <div type="twitter" handle="SardarSajid786" handlename="M . S A J I D 🇵🇰" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1439137172263682048/ihbnmQha_normal.jpg" favoritecount="0" retweetcount="0" status="Please @ICC ban IPL kun k IPL se cricket tabah ho rahi hai .#BanIPL https://t.co/Hw6tKka0nf" createdat="1635767412000" id="1455140113088983041"></div> Commenting on this Twitter outburst, Anatharaman said, “The Twitterati in India is very less if we compare to the advertising universe size of products and services advertised during IPL. Also, trends on Twitter can end in an hour too and hence people will forget these trending hashtags soon. It doesn't really affect the IPL in any way. In fact, it's been a tournament that has been associated with worse controversies like spot-fixing etc. but the tournament has still continued growing year by year and has also benefitted the brands associated with them.”

How India's loss at the T20 World Cup will affect Indian brands

Here are the BJP candidates who are winning in West Bengal elections 2021

<ul><li>Yesterday, Twitter lost its legal indemnity in India for failing to fully comply with new IT rules that came into force on May 25.</li><li>We speak to digital experts to understand how this decision could impact the platform and brands in India.</li></ul>The global microblogging platform Twitter lost its legal protection in India on June 16 over its failure to comply with the government’s new IT rules. Twitter has now lost its ‘intermediary’ status in India, which gave it immunity from liabilities over any third-party data hosted by the platform. The Jack Dorsey-owned platform will be held accountable for every single ‘objectionable’ tweet under the <keyword id="6433641" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="information-technology-act">Information Technology Act</keyword>, 2000 and the country’s penal laws. With this, Twitter has become the first US-based social media platform to lose legal protection in India. According to India’s Electronics and Information Technology Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad’s statement on Twitter, the platform ‘chose the path of deliberate defiance when it comes to the Intermediary Guidelines.’ <div type="twitter" handle="rsprasad" handlename="Ravi Shankar Prasad" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/727848709518675968/xebahww0_normal.jpg" favoritecount="7770" retweetcount="1702" status="Further, Twitter was given multiple opportunities to comply with the same, however it has deliberately chosen the path of non compliance." createdat="1623823338000" id="1405043034660560899"></div> Prasad also blamed Twitter for being biased and selectively labelling some content as manipulated media and ignoring others. “Further, what is perplexing is that Twitter fails to address the grievances of users by refusing to set up process as mandated by the law of the land. Additionally, it chooses a policy of flagging manipulates media, only when it suits, its likes and dislikes,” he wrote in a Twitter thread. We reached out to digital experts from the advertising industry to understand the implications of this development, to understand what it means for Twitter and brands in India. Here’s what they had to say: <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Akshay Gurnani, Co-founder &amp; CEO, Schbang:" text="Akshay Gurnani, Co-founder &amp; CEO, Schbang:">Akshay Gurnani, Co-founder &amp; CEO, Schbang:</cmsannotation> <div type="image" title="Akshay gurnani" msid="83575957" hostid="261"></div> With Twitter losing its intermediary status and hence its legal immunity, they will be made liable for all the content published on the platform. This will put quite a lot of pressure on the entity considering that Twitter has always been a place for unfiltered and sometimes controversial content. This will also put the ball back in the court of brands to think about whether they want to continue maintaining their presence on the platform or not. I'm certain Twitter will comply with the outlined regulations since India is one of their biggest markets, but until then, brands and advertisers will need to be a bit cautious. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Manesh Swamy, Vice President - Creative &amp; Social, Logicserve Digital:" text="Manesh Swamy, Vice President - Creative &amp; Social, Logicserve Digital:">Manesh Swamy, Vice President - Creative &amp; Social, Logicserve Digital:</cmsannotation> <div type="image" title="Manesh swami." msid="83575967" hostid="261"></div> Twitter has been active in the social space for a very long time. It has been a primary way for people around the globe to put across views, opinions, thoughts, broadcasts, and more. Now, with Twitter losing its safe harbour protection, this will eliminate the platform’s legal immunity. In my opinion, popular social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn have their specific personality and target audience. In the case of Twitter, it’s known for its authenticity, niche audience, and wide reach. After the microblogging platform losing its indemnity, brands on the platform might find it hard to comply and will have to bring it certain guidelines when putting out content. But ultimately the decision has been made by the Indian government therefore, brands should bring in alternatives to stay on top of the game. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Sahil Chopra, Founder &amp; CEO- iCubesWire:" text="Sahil Chopra, Founder &amp; CEO- iCubesWire:">Sahil Chopra, Founder &amp; CEO- iCubesWire:</cmsannotation> <div type="image" title="Sahil chopra icubes" msid="83576006" hostid="261"></div> “Twitter, including other social media giants, were extremely helpful in helping and connecting people during the second wave of Covid-19, which was appreciated globally. However, following India’s laws and regulations are paramount for any company. With so much fake news being spread through social media platforms, it is important to keep a tab on offensive content specially where religious sentiments can be hurt or fake news is spread on COVID vaccination. We are hopeful the Indian govt. and Twitter can work things out soon to ensure Indian laws and rules are followed.” <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Ambika Sharma, Founder and MD, Pulp Strategy:" text="Ambika Sharma, Founder and MD, Pulp Strategy:">Ambika Sharma, Founder and MD, Pulp Strategy:</cmsannotation> <div type="image" title="ambika sharma pulp" msid="83576032" hostid="261"></div> Twitter losing its intermediary status will impact their business, it means that they can now be least responsible for anything posted on the platform not following the law of the land. If this loss of status stands Twitter is up for difficult times. The loss of safe harbor will create unrest, it will be harder to appoint senior positions especially as the responsibility comes on the senior India execs, brands will be more cautious to start with. On the other hand Twitter being a preferred medium for political commentary the escalation may just be around the corner. however until this escalates into an incident current advertising plans may not be impacted much, if the loss of safety continues brands will take a conservative approach and shy away from engagement of twitter, the spillover from heightened sentiments due to any incident may not be worth it. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Siddharth Devnani, Co-Founder &amp; Director, SoCheers:" text="Siddharth Devnani, Co-Founder &amp; Director, SoCheers:">Siddharth Devnani, Co-Founder &amp; Director, SoCheers:</cmsannotation> <div type="image" title="Siddharth devnani socheers" msid="83576070" hostid="261"></div> For brands, businesses, agencies and advertisers, this will not change anything for now. Amongst other legal challenges, Twitter will also need to think of its own brand perception. Brands will continue to leverage the platform as long as its user base continues to be highly engaged as it is today. The change which has happened has to do with responsibility of Twitter for any problematic content posted on the platform. Hence it's not likely that it will directly impact brands or their campaign spends. The deals will remain intact as long as there is no backlash or additional rulings coming their way.

Twitter loses its legal protection in India: What it could mean for the platform and brands

As tensions in Kashmir escalate, the Opposition Congress is making a move on the central government’s actions. According to ANI, Congress MPs — Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, K Suresh, <keyword id="119952" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Manish-Tewari">Manish Tewari</keyword>, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Ambika Soni, and Bhubaneswar Kalita — have given adjournment motion notice over the Kashmir issue. What is an adjournment notice? An adjournment motion notice is given when a government policy is strongly disagreed. This will draw the attention of the government and criticise its decision in an urgent matter before it’s too late, <a href="http://www.prsindia.org/administrator/uploads/general/1408616558_Primer%20on%20Parliamentary%20Procedures.pdf">according to PRS Legislative</a>. If the adjournment motion is accepted, the House adjourns after voting. The adoption of an adjournment motion is seen as a strong disagreement with government policy, although there is no compulsion on the government to resign. Notice of an adjournment motion is required to be given before 10 am on the day on which the motion is proposed. Kashmir issue Since Friday, Kashmir has been on a high alert. The Indian government had cleared the state of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/the-india-pakistan-border-in-kashmir-is-simmering-again-thousands-of-amarnath-pilgrims-have-been-sent-back/articleshow/70500904.cms">Amarnath Yatra pilgrims</a> and students citing a terror threat. This was followed by surprising political moves like placing former <keyword id="17605" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jammu-and-kashmir">Jammu and Kashmir</keyword> chief minister <keyword id="19464" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Omar-Abdullah">Omar Abdullah</keyword> and <keyword id="6375812" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="mehbooba-mufti">Mehbooba Mufti</keyword> under house arrest. Then came the communication censorship as Internet and mobile services were suspended in several areas. The government imposed Section 144 from midnight on Monday, where more than four people are not allowed to assemble. The notice aside, the Union Home Minister <keyword id="6355521" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="amit-shah">Amit Shah</keyword> will make an announcement on their plans for Kashmir in the Parliament shortly at around 11 am. There is heavy speculation that the government is all set to scrap Section 35A in the Himalayan state. The section disallows non-permanent residents to settle down, acquire property to avail of scholarships.

What is an adjournment notice that the Congress is demanding from Modi on J&K

<ul><li>Congress has given adjournment motion notice in the Parliament, demanding an official statement over the <keyword id="64132" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kashmir-issue">Kashmir issue</keyword>. </li><li>Former chief ministers of Kashmir — Omar Abdullah and <keyword id="6375812" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="mehbooba-mufti">Mehbooba Mufti</keyword> — have been placed under house arrest. </li><li>Internet and mobile services have also been suspended in several areas the government imposed section 144 from midnight.</li></ul>Amid the rising tensions in the states of <keyword id="17605" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jammu-and-kashmir">Jammu and Kashmir</keyword>, Congress MPs — including Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, K Suresh and Manish Tewari — have given adjournment motion notice in the lower house of the Parliament, demanding an official statement over the Kashmir issue, ANI reported. Nazir Ahmad of People’s Democratic Party has issued a zero hour notice in the Parliament. Meanwhile, the issue is also being addressed in upper house where Congress MPs — Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Ambika Soni, and Bhubaneswar Kalita have extended Adjournment Motion notice over Kashmir issue. This adjournment motion is available to draw the attention of the government and criticise its decision in an urgent matter for which a motion or resolution, with notice, would be too late, <a href="http://www.prsindia.org/administrator/uploads/general/1408616558_Primer%20on%20Parliamentary%20Procedures.pdf">according to PRS Legislative</a>. If the adjournment motion is accepted, the House adjourns after voting. The adoption of an adjournment motion is seen as a strong disagreement with government policy, although there is no compulsion on the government to resign. Notice of an adjournment motion is required to be given before 10 am on the day on which the motion is proposed. The Kashmir issue The notice comes in the backdrop of house arrest of the state’s former chief ministers — Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti — on Sunday night. “Will see everyone on the other side. Allah save us,” Abdullah tweeted. 
	
	<div type="twitter" handle="OmarAbdullah" handlename="Omar Abdullah" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1119946891192438785/Dx6cpA-I_normal.jpg" favoritecount="19389" retweetcount="5891" status="I believe I’m being placed under house arrest from midnight tonight &amp; the process has already started for other mai… https://t.co/CXmcc5Z37c" createdat="1564941648000" id="1158075327333031941"></div>





 The Union Cabinet meeting will commence at 9:30 am today in Delhi. nion Home Minister <keyword id="6355521" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="amit-shah">Amit Shah</keyword> will make announcements on the escalating tensions in Kashmir in the Parliament today. The story so far On Friday (August 2) evening, the Indian government asked <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/the-india-pakistan-border-in-kashmir-is-simmering-again-thousands-of-amarnath-pilgrims-have-been-sent-back/articleshow/70500904.cms">thousands of Amarnath Yatra pilgrims</a> to leave Kashmir immediately citing a terror threat. Since then, the state has been in confusion and chaos. Making matters worse is a series of speculation by both <a href="https://twitter.com/SankarshanT/status/1157987037938511872">news outfits as well as on social media </a>that has led to people fearing the worst and hoarding food and necessities. The silence from the government in New Delhi, while building up troops in the valley, in the face of rampant speculation has added to the unease, particularly in the Kashmir valley, where Internet and mobile services have also been suspended in several areas as the government imposed section 144 from midnight on Monday.

India’s opposition wants Narendra Modi to reveal his Kashmir plan in Parliament

<ul><li>Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for 2022-23 in Parliament on Tuesday.</li><li>This year's budget is indexed towards startups, MSMEs, infrastructure projects, rural revival, digital payment apps, telecom growth and affordable housing.</li><li>We reached out to digital, media and creative agencies to understand how the increased focus on digitalisation, sustainability, blockchain and push to MSME can impact the ad and marketing industry.</li></ul>Be it the introduction of a Digital University to make education accessible across the country or the proposed launch of a Digital currency by the Reserve Bank of India to the government’s focus on promoting digital payments and fintech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made it is clear that digital is the way forward. The Union Budget 2022-23 aims to boost the country's digital infrastructure and enable a cashless economy. The government also announced that it will set up an Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) promotion task force to give a push to the animation and gaming industry. To facilitate the roll-out of 5G mobile services in India, FM Sitharaman said that Spectrum auctions will be conducted in 2022. This, in turn, will give impetus to Voice, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality and pave the way for the Metaverse. The Digital Rupee using blockchain will help Indians accept virtual currency and accelerate cryptocurrency exchange in India. Overall, the budget also shows a promise for Electric Vehicle brands, digital payment apps, MSMEs, gaming industry and start-ups. We reached out to digital, media and creative agencies to understand how the increased focus on digitalisation, sustainability and blockchain can impact the advertising and marketing industry. Here’s what they said: Anupriya Acharya, South Asia CEO, Publicis Groupe: The Budget is positive, growth-oriented and with reforms in the right direction. The advent of 5G is sure to transform communications – for our industry it will help creation of better AV, voice and AR/VR experiences. It will also fuel digital payments, streaming entertainment, gaming, e-commerce, tele-medicine etc which in turn will aid more Unicorns! It is also heartening to note that a special Task Force is being set up for AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comic) as this will help us build the much needed capacity both for domestic as well as global markets. And then there have been no changes in income-tax slabs for people, which many consumer segments were worried about. This in turn boosts consumer sentiment. From e-passports, to battery swapping for electric vehicles, setting up of optic fiber in the remotest of villages, setting up of a digital university and skilling through an e-portal, the big push is for technology, digital infrastructure and empowerment. Narayan Devanathan, Chief Client Officer, dentsu India: Having gone through the 38-page document of the Finance Minister’s budget speech, I decided to do a search for a couple of words that I thought kept repeating throughout her speech. The words “will be” occurred 110 times in the entire speech. When I narrowed my search to the single word “will,” the number rose to 362. To me, those two words sum up the essence of what this year’s budget is and is not. What it is, is a future-focused budget, aiming at the distant vision of India@100, with a 25-year Amrit Kaal lead-up. What it is not, and what I felt was sorely needed this year of all years, is a present-focused budget. A punishing 2021 for the aam aadmi with more-than-usual expenditure on health and sustenance meant the general populace was looking for immediate relief that would place more cash in their household budgets. That did not happen. Nor was there any extraordinary investment in relieving the healthcare expenditure burden. For all the importance of farmers in upcoming poll-bound states, there was neither major sop nor stimulus given to back the importance of agriculture as a spine if not engine of the economy. Even the MSME sectors were only handed a slightly longer lease of life with the extension of the ECLGS, but there was no real move to stimulate consumption by placing more cash at consumers’ disposal, for example, extending LTA claims to restaurants (and not just accommodation). There is perhaps plenty for the industry to cheer about since it can afford to think about the future and a slightly longer term than just the here and now of survival. The stock market did cheer up even before the FM’s speech, but that only served to underscore the dichotomy between the real health of the population and the Minority of Haves. When the general population probably can’t afford to wait for the benefits of trickle-down economics to reach them in yet another trying year, the dreams and wheels of a consumer-driven economy might move slower than the industry might like, despite the many future-facing and progressive policies announced. Virat Tandon, Group CEO, MullenLowe Lintas Group: The union budget can be termed as consistent with the government's vision to reach the 5 trillion GDP mark by 2025-26. Hence, the strong focus on capex to boost infrastructure that connects and streamlines middle India and provides the engines of entrepreneurship across the length and breadth of the country. It also shows India's commitment to bring a digital first economy with the 5G rollout planned for next financial year, clarity on India's policy for cryptocurrency, data centres, EVs and our very own digital Rupee. Start-up culture will continue to flourish with the right policy framework. These investments and policies will generate jobs and go a long way in inclusive and sustainable growth for Bharat. Anurag Bansal, COO &amp; CFO, DDB Mudra Group: This Union Budget looks neutral, with no major changes in taxation. The launch of digital Rupee based on blockchain technology is a big move to bring in official cryptocurrency in India. New e-passports with embedded chips would definitely ease overseas travel. Managing the Fiscal deficit while pushing for growth and investments is a great balancing act taken on by the government. It will give a boost to capital investments and infrastructure development. Kartik Sharma - Group Chief Executive Officer – India, Omnicom Media Group: With an impetus on holistic growth, developing infrastructure and job creation across sectors, the 2022 union budget shows promise with a focus on the big picture. Reviving economic growth in the post-pandemic environment has been a focus for this government and this progressive, digital-first, and development-oriented budget reflects that. Not only does it provide a boost to the MSME, agriculture and healthcare verticals, but also signals that investing in infrastructure today will connect India better tomorrow. With an increased focus on digitization, some of the standouts for me were that the budget recognized the current gaps and opportunities within the education sector, and is advancing towards uplifting India with the creation of a digital ecosystem - one that is focused on upskilling and creating more employment; aligned with the dynamic needs of today. It also aims to further strengthen communications in the rural sector and build upon the overall financialization of India. Furthermore, while the rollout of a 5G ecosystem will improve the quality of services, the launch of digital money, supported by blockchain, signals an increasing focus on transparency. With consistency in strategic direction and focus on propelling the MSME and start-up ecosystem, this is a welcoming budget for new-age businesses and a hopeful one that will ultimately lead to a boost in the A&amp;M industry as well. We're at the cusp of the next stage of India's digital revolution and although certain factors like data privacy still remain an area to be delved deeper into, as infrastructure and banking penetrate further into rural India, we’re looking hopeful and strong to transform into a forward-leaning digital economy of tomorrow.” Deepak Mittal, CEO and Co-Founder, TO THE NEW: The government's unprecedented commitment to technology innovation and adoption in this union budget is highly encouraging. Breakthrough developments and futuristic technology such as the introduction of digital currency, the rollout of 5G within FY22-23, and e-passports using embedded chips are exciting for the country's future. Among the measures announced, the budget highlights special incentives to startups and the launch of a progressive, new portal encouraging a digital ecosystem for skilling and upskilling. These initiatives will serve as a successful catalyst for the country's economic growth. Atul Shrivastava, Group CEO &amp; Executive Director at Laqshya Media Group: The union Budget underlined the government’s focus on long-term growth. As India’s economic growth is estimated to be 9.2% in the upcoming financial year so it would be good for all the industry and with overall growth, we are sure advertising &amp; media will also show remarkable growth which was low due to the pandemic in the last couple of years. As announced the National Highways to be expanded by 25,000 km under PM Gati Shakti mission. Highways are adding a new dimension to the growth of the OOH Industry as advertising on the Highways is emerging as very strong choice for brand building for many categories. Prasad Shejale, Founder and CEO, Logicserve Digital: The FM has announced a very progressive budget with an intention to widen India's horizons and outlook in the next five years, leveraging emerging technologies. The Government has addressed some urgent priorities underpinning the digital sector, including the launch of digital currency, API-based skill credentials, digital learning channels, digitization of manual processes, etc. On the digital connectivity front, the 5G spectrum auctions will finally make the dream of a tech-savvy India a reality, further boosting the country's digital infrastructure. Additionally, the launch of a design-led manufacturing scheme for the 5G ecosystem as part of the PLI scheme will ensure affordable broadband and mobile communication even in far-flung areas. The availability of high-speed internet connectivity in urban as well as rural areas will encourage marketers to experiment with blockchain, AR, VR. On the skilling front, initiatives like establishing a digital university will provide an opportunity for youth to learn new skills from the comfort of their homes. The creation of a new task force to build domestic capacity in the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comic (AVGC) sector is commendable. The overall budget is future tech-enabled and balanced. Ahmed Aftab Naqvi, Global CEO &amp; Co-founder, GOZOOP Group: While there will always be hope for more and better, the continued push towards digital, fintech and the boost for start-up ecosystem with the extension of tax benefits till March 2023 along with capping the surcharge at 15% irrespective of the amount of long term capital gains, will fuel the fire of entrepreneurship in our nation. Varun Duggirala, Entrepreneur, Co-founder of The Glitch, Author, Content Creator and a Podcaster: The twin announcements of the digital rupee and the taxation on ‘virtual digital assets’ is clearly a focused drive from the government to regulate the crypto space. What needs to be seen is how this plays out because regulating a decentralized space is a paradox in itself. Another point that stood out for me was the national mental health program. More than anything else it signifies the normalizing of mental health as a legitimate area of focus for us as a nation. Shrenik Gandhi, CEO and Co-founder, White Rivers Media: In my opinion, it is a fairly balanced budget. There is sufficient emphasis being laid on up-skilling, and making right investments in tech which is the need of the hour. The previous budget was more inclined towards setting up a strong foundation in the digital space, and this one is essentially focused on making further advancements. Besides, Digital Rupee being introduced is indeed, a great news across sectors and it will be exciting to finally watch it become a reality. It can prove to be a game-changer in India's future as transactions will become even more instantaneous. Speaking of the expected benefits, let’s not forget that this is India’s #Budget and not a Big Bazaar scheme announcement. So, the immediate benefit may not be seen right now but considering the long-term narrative, it is a fairly established budget. Sahil Chopra, Founder &amp; CEO- iCubesWire: While the general trend of the <keyword id="12134566" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="union-budget-2022" source="Orion">union budget 2022</keyword> has its emphasis on ease of doing business, I strongly believe, data and digital occupied the centerpiece of the budget. The plans to focus and promote the fintech and digital economy are a very strong positive move. New age technologies, keeping data and digital at heart of it will allow the tech enablers to transform multiple industries. For MSMEs, the government has plans to outlay Rs 2 trillion which is again a welcoming move that will help in enhancing startups as well as entrepreneurial opportunities for all. Besides, extension on tax exemption to startups and promotion of startups to facilitate ‘Drone Shakti’ through varied applications and drones as a service is also encouraging. The ambitious optical fibre to the villages under PPP in 2022-23 shall get the next 100M in the Digital Universe soon. To sum up, it’s a positive budget for the digital sector which has always vouched for a strong digital infrastructure in the country." Chetan Asher, Founder and CEO, Tonic Worldwide: The budget clearly will help the country march towards digital adoption and transformation in many sectors. With 5G rollout on the cards we will see an acceleration across the board. The digital rupee will put India right up on the map of advanced digital economies. Clarity on Digital assets and crypto will give it new impetus. All of these initiatives will help us emerge as leaders in adoption and growth of blockchain technology Ambika Sharma, Founder &amp; MD, Pulp Strategy: The Budget is interesting as the Government has focused on all sectors. The financial support for the digital payments ecosystem is a welcome move and further reaffirms the Government of India's digital banking push. This push on digitization will make way for more inclusion in the ecosystem. The focus on 'Ease of doing business is a great step, as it will further promote entrepreneurship in the economy” . The 2022-23 budget finely balanced fiscal retreat with supporting economic recovery. The budget focused on a familiar strategy of driving capital expenditure to drive growth, to crowd in private investment through higher public spending. Although markets could be disappointed with a higher fiscal deficit of 6.4% of GDP for FY23 than expected, it is perhaps prudent to not undertake aggressive fiscal consolidation at this nascent stage of recovery. While elevated market borrowings are likely to pressurize bond yields, the inclusion of green bonds in the borrowing plan is an interesting innovation. In terms of specific policy announcements, the move towards self-reliance through protection for domestic manufacturers (change in custom and import duties) aligns with the long-term goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat. The government has extended the startup tax holiday and concessional tax for manufacturing startups by a year. While that was on the cards, it doesn’t address the core need of startups to be given a longer tax holiday of 5 years as required. One of the most encouraging aspects of the budget has been the announcement to set up an AVGC (animation, visual effects, gaming, and comics) promotion task force to plan and build domestic capacity for serving domestic as well as global markets. Loss from the transfer of virtual digital assets cannot be set off against any other income. The creation of a unified logistics platform and the developments of 100 new cargo terminals in the next three years are significant steps in improving the supply chain ecosystem in the country. Infrastructure status given to Data Centers will provide a huge boost to the fast-evolving digital environment of the country. The fiscal outcome is broadly in line with our expectations with the government having continued its focus on infrastructure and rural demand. Himanshu Arya, Founder and CEO, Grapes: The Union Budget for the financial year 2022-23 has set the stage with an invigorated focus on ramping up the process of the digital revolution. The government’s focus on the digital ecosystem is a progressive move to render an inclusive landscape for job openings and entrepreneurial opportunities. The extension of tax incentives for startups for one more year will give a slight relief to the industry. I hope that the cash flow improves in the market. The Union Budget has various encouraging initiatives and is directed towards a more viable and flexible business ecosystem that completely aligns with the ideologies of Make in India. Siddharth Devnani, Co-Founder &amp; Director, SoCheers: Digital and digitization stood out as a strong overall trend in the Union Budget 2022. The budget put a great focus on long-term growth and given how intricately ‘digital’ was integrated into several measures, it can be seen as an integral part of that growth. Implementation of the Central Bank digital currency will definitively aid the growth of digital economy and finance in the country, opening doors for digital acceleration across sectors. The announcement about the new digital university and the renewed focus on digital learning, further presents an opportunity, especially to the fast-evolving Educational Technology sector. However, a definite plan on how this will pan out for all corners of India remains to be seen. Moreover, digital will also be leveraged in the set-up and operation of tele-mental health centres, providing the necessary focus and access to mental health services to the Indian masses. This comes as one of the most welcome move as it’ll contribute infinitely to the nation’s long-term growth.

The advertising industry voices its enthusiasm about the government’s steps towards boosting digital ecosystem in Union Budget 2022-23

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<ul><li>Finance Minister <keyword id="129243" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nirmala-Sitharaman">Nirmala Sitharaman</keyword> on Saturday announced that the government will set aside ₹6,000 crore for <keyword id="2791195" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="BharatNet">BharatNet</keyword>, a step towards ensuring that the internet reaches every home.</li><li>The government also intends to build data centre parks throughout the country to focus on new age technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT).</li><li>Industry experts voiced their enthusiasm about the government’s steps towards giving digital ecosystem a boost.</li></ul>Digital is the way forward and that is clear from the government's attempt to boost the country's digital infrastructure. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced that the government will set aside ₹6,000 crore for BharatNet, a step towards ensuring that the internet reaches every home. While the digital ecosystem has already been seeing an impressive growth in the country these past few years, this step will further bolster the growth, giving digital-backed businesses a huge boost. Moreover, the government also intends to build data centre parks throughout the country to focus on new age technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT). Digital stakeholders from the industry were quick to acknowledge the boost that the move will give the entire ecosystem and came out together to laud the government's move. Here are some voices from the industry sharing their enthusiasm. Gautam Sinha, CEO,Times Internet: <keyword id="7836802" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Budget-2020">Budget 2020</keyword> is a promising step towards establishing India’s future as an enduring digital economy. The increased focus on improving data connectivity under Bharat Net, steps to boost the smartphone manufacturing industry and the Rs 8,000Cr allocation for the National Mission on Quantum Computing &amp; Technology will help build better digital infrastructure to support this sector's rapid growth. Finally, deferring tax on ESOP's for startups is also a major move that will help promising startups attract and retain talent that would fuel our burgeoning digital ecosystem. MVS Murthy, Head – Marketing and Digital, Tata Asset Management: This Budget gives a strong tailwind to all things digital. Support to smartphone manufacturing while harnessing the engineering and design skills is another progressive step in the Make in India story. Over 6 lakh anganwadi workers being equipped with smartphones to upload the nutrition status of 10 crore households, is a great step to leverage technology and address health care of children. Use of AI towards an endeavor to eradicate TB is yet another step towards human life enhancement. Embracing technology through Analytics, IoT and AI augurs well for us as a 21st century powerhouse economy. Including 100,000 Gram Panchayats in this mission through BharatNet will integrate us as a nation digitally. Smart meters, use of solar panels alongside railway tracks benefit the households and also makes us seen as a conscious consumer of green-tech. There are enough opportunities for global companies, partners and startup’s in India to actively participate in India’s continued efforts in harnessing tech for public good and welfare. Shrenik Gandhi, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, White Rivers Media: There will be views that support right and views that support left, but I strongly believe, data and digital occupied the centrepiece of the budget! The fact that we moved beyond jargon war and marching towards embracing digital technology is a very strong positive move. New age technologies, keeping data and digital at the heart of it shall lead to big reforms. Focus on IoT, Data Parks, AI shall make India a strong contender amongst the top digital economies, globally. The ambitious fibre to home proposal shall get the next 100M in the Digital universe soon. All in all, it’s a very positive budget for digital by the government which has always vouched for the power of digital. The same coupled with reduced tax slabs and abolition of DDT shall lead to higher disposable income; thus enabling more consumption. Redickaa Subrammanian, Co-founder and CEO, Resulticks: Digital disruption has transformed India’s business landscape and the announcement for building more data center parks will further aid in laying a strong foundation for a digitally connected country. Rs 8000 crore allotment for developing quantum technology is impressive, and this in tandem with the grassroots level skilling initiatives, make for a strong technology ecosystem. Engineering students will also gain real-world experience through the new internship programs, creating a digitally skilled talent pool equipped to work in a digital economy. As a fast growing AI and ML based technology start-up, we welcome setting up of the investment clearance cell. The proposed revisions in the income tax structure should lead to increased consumer demand and provide an overall impetus for economic growth in India. The announcement made in Budget 2020 showcases the government’s support for India's technological advancement and we are excited about the entrepreneurial spirit it promotes. Ambika Sharma, Managing Director &amp; Founder at Pulp Strategy: The latest budget announcement for the year 2020 -21 bears vast potential in shaping India’s road towards achieving its target of emerging as a 5 trillion dollar economy. With India currently posed as the fifth largest economy in the world, I am particularly enthralled by the government’s decision to optimize new-age disruptive technologies such as Machine Learning, robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) towards attaining a seamless and integrated service sector. Further advancing the digital revolution in the country is the government’s resolution of developing state-of-the-art data centers across the nation. Moreover, the FM’s proposal to allocate Rs 6,000 crore for connecting 100,000 Gram Panchayats by FY21 will also prove instrumental in accelerating India’s journey towards becoming a tech –enabled nation. Chetan Asher, Co-founder &amp; CEO, Tonic Worldwide: This budget makes me optimistic about the growth of digital ecosystem. Firstly the Rs 6,000 crore allocation towards BharatNet will give last mile connectivity the impetus that it needs and pave way for digital transformation at all levels. Allowing private players to build data centers and encouraging production of mobile and network devices will all compliment each other in growing the ecosystem. Jasmeet Thind, Co-founder, Coutloot: With technologies like AI, IoT and Data Analytics transforming the world, and cutting across streams, the <keyword id="8192304" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="union-budget-2020">Union Budget 2020</keyword> has introduced some ample changes that will certainly benefit the start-up community. The finance minister announcing that entrepreneurs from rural areas will be offered additional opportunities to learn and develop their skill sets is definitely a moment to rejoice. Stressing on digital connectivity throughout the country the Rs 6000 crore allocated for the same under the BharatNet program, we are happy that aspiring entrepreneurs and small businesses from suburban and rural areas will be able to scale their business outside of their towns. We will continue to offer our support to enable them to achieve their goal and own successful businesses.

As the government sets aside ₹6,000 crore for BharatNet in the Union Budget, the industry rejoices

<ul><li>In wake of players, support staff and team management executives tested positive for Covid-19, BCCI announced the suspension of <keyword id="7866747" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ipl-2021">IPL 2021</keyword>. </li><li>Considering how big the league has become over the years, every year there is a lot of money riding on IPL.</li><li>We spoke to experts to understand the kind of impact the suspension of the league will have on different stakeholders.</li></ul> The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has suspended the current season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in wake of players in different teams testing positive for Covid. While there had been talks of moving the tournament to a different city in the past few days, the new positive cases among the players led to BCCI announcing an indefinite suspension of the league. For a while now, IPL had been the topic of a raging debate - Whether there was a need to hold the tournament this year, at this time, when the country is facing a massive surge in Covid numbers. While there were many who had felt that IPL should not have been held this year, or could have been suspended much earlier than it was, there were others who said something like an IPL was important because it acted as a distraction from the grimness that otherwise surrounds us. In its official statement, IPL stated, “The BCCI does not want to compromise on the safety of the players, support staff and the other participants involved in organising the IPL. This decision was taken keeping the safety, health and wellbeing of all the stakeholders in mind. These are difficult times, especially in India and while we have tried to bring in some positivity and cheer, however, it is imperative that the tournament is now suspended and everyone goes back to their families and loved ones in these trying times. The BCCI will do everything in its powers to arrange for the secure and safe passage of all the participants in IPL 2021.” In its official statement, <keyword id="17943" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="star-india">Star India</keyword> said, “Star India supports BCCI’s decision to postpone IPL 2021. The health and safety of players, staff and everyone involved in the IPL are of paramount importance. We thank the BCCI, IPL Governing Council, players, franchisees and sponsors for their support. We are also indebted to our employees, on-air talent, production, and broadcast crews for trying their best to spread positivity by delivering the broadcast of IPL 2021 to millions of homes in the face of challenging circumstances.” However, the next big question everyone is pondering over is, how will IPL’s suspension impact different stakeholders considering there are massive investments involved in the league every year. This year, Star India had on-boarded 18 sponsors and over 100 advertisers across multiple brand categories including Edtech, Fantasy Sports, Beverages, Pay Wallets, Home Décor, Auto, Telecom, Consumer Durables, FMCG and Financial Services. For most brands, the IPL becomes that one property that garners impressive eyeballs. The leagues has helped a lot of brands build awareness and reach out to an engaged set of audience over the years. However, this year, perhaps due to the ongoing <keyword id="9323110" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Covid-surge">Covid surge</keyword>, IPL’s viewership witnessed a dip when compared to last year’s numbers, according to data from Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India. <div type="image" title="IPL 2021 viewership" msid="82390462" hostid="261"></div> Last year, BCCI had earned Rs 4,000 crore in revenue from hosting IPL, in addition to a 25% rise in TV viewership, according to BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal. The different franchisees make money through title sponsorships, media rights, merchandising, ticket sales and the prize money. When it comes to the broadcaster, Star Sports and Hotstar was expected to rake in advertising revenues of around Rs 3,600-3,800 crore, a substantial jump from last year’s estimated revenue of Rs 2,600 crore. While it might still be very early to understand the implications of the suspension, industry experts believe advertisers will approach Star Sports Network to rework the advertising deals. Many advertisers had to pay close to a 20% premium for ad slots this year and it is expected they would demand for extra airtime, to make up. What the exact implications are, and how different stakeholders work around the suspension, only time will tell. To understand what the industry felt about the league’s suspension, we reached out to experts from the industry, and here is what they had to say: <keyword id="248051" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ashish-Bhasin">Ashish Bhasin</keyword>, CEO APAC and Chairman India, dentsu supported the decision to postpone the IPL for now. “Given the prevailing pandemic situation, I think it is the right decision to postpone IPL for now. The health and safety of all the players and everyone involved I think is paramount and keeping in mind the situation in the country and the prevailing mood in the nation, in my view it is the right decision. IPL is the single largest property on television in India and something that appeals to a wide target audience, across the geographies. It has unparalleled reach and has always proven to be an excellent vehicle for brands and I think that will continue to be so and that will not change. Given the fact that several parts of the country are going into lockdown, there are emergency measures been taken in different cities and towns to curb the pandemic, the severe shortages and difficulties being experienced, lives being lost to the pandemic, I think it is more appropriate to focus on that then on commercial issues for now. I’m sure the commercial issues will get discussed and resolved in an appropriate manner.” While she said that the suspension will amount to substantial business impact for a lot of the stakeholders, <keyword id="3123098" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Neena-Dasgupta">Neena Dasgupta</keyword>, CEO and Director, Zirca Digital Solutions also stated that she would not be in favor of it resuming at a later date. “There is definitely going to be a substantial business impact on all associated with the annual spectacle. It's not just Star and BCCI that would be losing revenue but other people as well whose revenue is linked to IPL. Media agencies, digital agencies who were riding big on IPL would now have to look for ways to compensate for the lost revenue opportunity. While it is being said that the tournament would resume during better times, no one should place their bets on it. As a business I would not be in favour of the decision, but looking at the current scenario, saving human lives is top most priority. I would like to say to all my fellow colleagues across the industry, “Hang on and stay safe, this too shall pass,” she said. Pointing at how the first-time advertisers would perhaps be the least daunted by the development, <keyword id="1505615" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ashish-Khazanchi">Ashish Khazanchi</keyword>, Managing Partner, Enormous Brands said, “Suspension of IPL will certainly have near-term adverse impact - both in terms of business objectives of advertisers and even more importantly on the market sentiment. Heavy investments may be held back because there's going to be unpredictability on how the returns on investments may turn out to be. The first-time advertisers however are probably going to be the least daunted going by my extensive work with them. For a few important reasons. One, their businesses are heavily digital-enabled. That part of the world will roughly continue unfazed and may actually gain shares at the expense of the traditional business models. Two, they have a much higher risk appetite than traditional business. The older businesses are usually in a consolidate mode, while all start ups are in an aggressive growth and acquisition mode. They may actually take advantage of lesser media saturation to build share of voice. The cancellation is somewhat likely to cast a little shadow of uncertainty even on the World Cup. But only the next few months will tell us the way for sure." Chetan Asher, Founder &amp; CEO - Tonic Worldwide said, "IPL is a major vehicle for visibility for startups in India and brands associated with the event can become a household name, from a marketing perspective. While the suspension derails the opportunity for them, given the current context that's unavoidable and a step in the right direction. However, they can channelise their investments and energy in trying to make a difference by partnering with NGO’s providing relief during Covid-19." Earlier this year, a report from Duff &amp; Phelps had revealed that the value of the IPL ecosystem witnessed a 3.6% dip in 2020. So how will the suspension this year further impact its value? Varun Gupta, Managing Director and Head Valuation Advisory- APAC, Duff &amp; Phelps, A Kroll Business said, “If the tournament had merely been suspended and restarted within a week or two, it might not have much of a difference to the revenues of the IPL or that of the franchisees. However, it appears that that the tournament is postponed indefinitely, which would have the following impact – Firstly, IPL would suffer significant revenue losses for the current season. There will be loss of sponsorship and broadcasting revenues for BCCI. The league was already coping with loss of revenues from ticket sales and in-stadia F&amp;B, besides the loss of revenue last year due to <keyword id="215177" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vivo">VIVO</keyword> pulling out for the 2020 season. Secondly, the teams will also suffer revenue losses on account of reduced revenue from the central pool and loss of team sponsorship revenues. Having said that, one must also acknowledge that while it was ongoing over the last few weeks, the IPL provided 3-4 hours of much needed diversion and relief to the Indian masses who are reeling under a barrage of bad news on the Covid front. IPL’s ability to pull TV audiences continues unabated. Secondly, the value of any enterprise is based on its future cash earning capacity. To our mind, while there will be some revenue loss this year, the future revenue generation ability of the IPL is undiminished.” Sanjay Mehta, Joint CEO of Mirum India said that while the move will have an impact on brands, it also gives them time to rethink their communication strategies. “The suspension of the IPL, then, is going to hurt all those brands. Many (such as CRED, for example) would have invested significant sums in new creatives. Others would have planned campaign schedules and connected the same to product demand forecasts and inventory placement in stores. These plans will all get impacted, as finding alternate spots to run that kind of ad inventory will not be easy. On the other hand, many businesses and their customers are themselves impacted due to the second wave of Covid and might see this as a sigh of relief in a way, as they might save money for ad inventory that is not run. Also, at a time when the mood of a large number of citizens is very low, having "in-your-face" advertising urging you to purchase something as if life was normal, was a little jarring too. Maybe this break gives them time to rethink their creative strategies, for communication in the midst of the Covid challenges,” he said. Ambika Sharma, Founder &amp; MD, Pulp Strategy added, “The battle with Covid-19 which started a year ago has disrupted the operations across the globe. In India, with its huge populace it has become a daunting task to overcome despite safety and Covid-19 protocols. The IPL which is an extremely popular event that everyone looks forward to, should not have been allowed as the charm and excitement of watching and engaging on the ground cannot be matched with watching it at home without your friends and dear ones and right now you see only devastation in either your neighbourhood, family or anywhere. The high stakes of IPL should have been looked into, especially when we see players falling to Covid infections. The infection can have multiple manifestations on the health of the players which can lead to serious lifelong illness. While we stare at huge losses, be it for the Sponsors, Broadcasters and BCCI, the environment is least conducive to host these matches. A mutually agreeable formula by key stakeholders can be adopted transparently to arrive at a decision, especially when the medical experts are warning us about the Covid peak.” Speaking about the impact of the move on brands as well as agencies that have worked on campaigns for their clients, Shradha Agarwal, COO and Strategy Head- Grapes Digital said, "This is definitely going to affect the marketers. There are creative works, campaigns that are yet to be launched as brands were waiting for the IPL to enter its second phase. In May many brands would have come out with ads and campaigns because the IPL advertising inventory is sold through long term contracts that are signed before the tournament begins. This will also impact digital agencies that are ready to launch their campaigns with influencers based on IPL. There are few possibilities, firstly, the IPL is suspended and not dropped hence, advertisers will wait for the league to resume or some clients would cease the campaign and work on Plan B because the budget was allocated for a specific period, and if the quarter changes they will back out. Small advertisers might take the route of moving to regular inventory instead of investing for the remainder of the season in one go." What route the broadcaster takes in the next few days to rejig its advertising deals with brands and sponsors is something we will need to wait and watch.

As IPL gets suspended indefinitely, experts discuss the broad implications of the move on all stakeholders

We all know the App revolution is here and to capture the attention of the consumer market glued to their smartphones, app is the way. Enterprises, SME businesses and brands, no one want to be left behind but costs, poor quality, lack of tech understanding are delaying the app decision.
 What if we told you that you could get an app without worrying about all the above factors and that too, in more than two languages within the same <keyword id="6355821" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="application">application</keyword>? Whether you own an export house, a niche fashion boutique, a superstore, or an exotic pet shop, your mobile commerce store is instantly ready with <keyword id="3081976" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Instappy">Instappy</keyword>. 

	“Instappy is a cloud based DIY platform which makes it simple for everyone to create instant, affordable, intuitive, and professional mobile applications with unlimited customization, updates, and no coding skills needed to get your business on mobile. It is loaded with features that, until now, were exclusively available only with full-scale development effort,” said Ambika Sharma, CEO of Pulp Strategy (Instappy).
 

	Features
 

	• It is equipped with API integration, inventory management and fully supported data. 
 

	• The main difference where Instappy stands out is their rich media User Interface (updates for over 46 Rich media), unlike any tool in the market that uses an icon based UI to provide hybrid applications.
 

	• The platform allows users to build apps in 20 languages; apart from local languages, there is Spanish, Portuguese, French, German and Arabic. 
	 
	
 

	Going global
 

	They plan to go global by the end of this month, with US and Europe as the main targeted markets.
 

	Success and Future
 

	Within 30 days of the launch it has acquired 600 users with 12 established apps on the platform. 
 

	“We aspire to achieve a target of reaching 100+ apps in the market by this December. We have received high adoption level in the Gujarati language. We also see huge response from Tier II as well as Tier I cities,” she said.
 

	What more
 

	They also provide a mentoring team to mentor the users as how to do the best with their applications, how to market it and how to use free as well as paid hacks to ensure they have a robust growth.

	 
	 
	(Image credits: youtube, instappy)

Instappy is set to change how businesses across the world will go mobile

<ul><li><keyword id="169284" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="ASCI">ASCI</keyword> released <keyword id="8325366" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="new-draft-guidelines">new draft guidelines</keyword> to help consumers identify promotional content from user-generated content. </li><li>We reached out to brand experts and <keyword id="2540701" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Influencer-marketing">influencer marketing</keyword> agencies to understand what it would mean for the industry.</li></ul>To help consumers understand social media a little better, and in an attempt to make sure they understand what content posted by an influencer is an ad, the <keyword id="120108" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Advertising-Standards-Council-of-India">Advertising Standards Council of India</keyword> (ASCI) has released draft guidelines for influencer advertising on digital media. Influencer marketing has been witnessing a steady growth in India in the past few years. Today, Indian audiences are watching more online videos than ever before. It was time to take a step forward towards building a transparent advertising ecosystem. <keyword id="6456080" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="nielsen">Nielsen</keyword> studies show that home-bound consumers have led to a 60% increase in the amount of video content watched globally. ASCI, in its statement said that the guidelines for influencers advertising on digital media will be available for all stakeholders, including industry, digital influencers as well as consumers for feedback till March 8, 2021. Based on the feedback and inputs, the final guidelines will be issued by ASCI by 31st March, 2021. This guideline will be applicable to all promotional posts published on or after 15th April 2021. We reached out to experts from the influencer ecosystem to understand the implications of the guidelines and how it will impact stakeholders, and here is what they had to say: <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Arjun Mohan, CEO – India, upGrad" text="Arjun Mohan, CEO – India, upGrad">Arjun Mohan, CEO – India, upGrad</cmsannotation> A much-welcomed move by the ASCI, which has the potential to create a profound long-term impact affecting consumers’ trust in the overall concept of advertising. We realise the influencer marketing sector has seen exponential growth over the past decade and has also become a core of our brand-building efforts at upGrad. We look forward to the newly drafted guidelines which I’m sure will further make influencer marketing more transparent and also bring-forth better opportunities for brands to create responsible advertising for their audience, at large. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, Co-founder &amp; Director" text="Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, Co-founder &amp; Director">Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, Co-founder &amp; Director</cmsannotation><cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Wakefit.co" text="Wakefit.co">Wakefit.co</cmsannotation> We believe the new draft guidelines for influencer advertising on digital media suggested by ASCI is an extremely encouraging move. As more and more Indians get connected to the internet, they discover and interact with a multitude of brands on a daily basis. While these new guidelines will promote transparency, it will also elevate the level of trust between customers, influencers and brands. Given that brands and influencers are required to do a thorough due diligence about aspects like using filters and technical or performance claims made by a brand, it is likely to instil a sense of accountability and provide clarity to customers. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Ashwini Deshpande, Co-founder &amp; Director, Elephant Design" text="Ashwini Deshpande, Co-founder &amp; Director, Elephant Design">Ashwini Deshpande, Co-founder &amp; Director, Elephant Design</cmsannotation> An influencer garners a large follower base because of consistent &amp; aligned content for the kind of audience he/ she is aiming for. If the influencers want to continue getting followed by their audience, it is necessary for them to stay interesting and honest. Influencer marketing has reached a critical mass in India and it is the right time to have these clear guidelines from ASCI that protect consumers from being misled. The draft guidelines by ASCI which are open for public discussion for the next few days, have transparency at its core and should be welcomed by the advertising industry. The most important guideline on prominent labelling has been rightfully specified for each social media channel – will help the consumer from getting misguided by influencer advertisements. The guidelines have ensured three prominent things: • Any content where the brand has paid the influencer and has had reasonable control over the content needs to be called out as 'advertisement'. • Influencer must make it obvious that the content is an 'advertisement'. This should be a clear indication to the follower that the content has bias. • If the influencer is making some specific claims, they should be diligently substantiated by the advertiser or brand owner. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Kunal Kishore Sinha, Co-founder, ClanConnect" text="Kunal Kishore Sinha, Co-founder, ClanConnect">Kunal Kishore Sinha, Co-founder, ClanConnect</cmsannotation> ASCI’s newly issued guidelines for influencer marketing will unlock a wealth of new opportunities for the fast-evolving segment that will result in positive outcomes for the sector in the long run. When a major industry body such as the ASCI deems that there is a need to introduce guidelines for influencers and the influencer marketing community, it shows how the market has evolved and has assumed a mainstream stature in the larger advertising space. These guidelines will not only streamline the space and offer a direction but also ensure that there is an added sense of social responsibility amongst the influencer community. Needless to say, we welcome this move by the ASCI for the segment as it will act as a guiding light for new and established content creators, who will now be more mindful of the kind of content that they are bringing to their target audiences. An extremely positive move from the ASCI, these guidelines will act as a catalyst for more organized and structured platforms such as ClanConnect to set new benchmarks for the industry as a whole. Platforms such as ours will play a major role in assisting content creators in navigating through the various regulations and conform to them without any inadvertent missteps. With ASCI introducing these guidelines, the influencer marketing segment also joins the league of recognized and celebrated domains of the advertising ecosystem and indicates further growth and evolution for this space. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Apaksh Gupta, Founder &amp; CEO, One Impression" text="Apaksh Gupta, Founder &amp; CEO, One Impression">Apaksh Gupta, Founder &amp; CEO, One Impression</cmsannotation> We're elated to have been partners with the entire ecosystem and the regulatory body that is fostering a holistic approach towards digital advertising. Observing the paradigm shift from traditional to digital, it only coherent to have a transparent &amp; clear ecosystem laid out via the proposed ASCI guidelines, that is beneficial to both digital influencers &amp; consumers. We trust this will regulate &amp; filter out the misleading content, which is suggestive of a much healthier digital world out there! <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Ankita Chauhan, Group Head Strategy, Tonic Worldwide" text="Ankita Chauhan, Group Head Strategy, Tonic Worldwide">Ankita Chauhan, Group Head Strategy, <keyword id="3671421" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tonic-Worldwide">Tonic Worldwide</keyword></cmsannotation> As the word opinion leader suggests, influencers are leading opinion and influencing purchase decisions, across categories. A lot of time the content is promoted as a part of the larger story and seeded in subtly, making the whole placement look rather organic. However, consumers have full right to know what is paid and what is organic. It’s quite basic. I’ve observed several influencers labelling sponsored content and I think industry bodies making it a mandate only benefits the consumers at large. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Aayush Tiwari - Head of Talent Acquisition, Monk Entertainment" text="Aayush Tiwari - Head of Talent Acquisition, Monk Entertainment">Aayush Tiwari - Head of Talent Acquisition, Monk Entertainment</cmsannotation> I believe that the latest issued ASCI guidelines is a good step to secure the future of now one of the most popular ways of brand promotions - influencer marketing. As the guidelines states, consumers, here disguised as a follower, should have all the rights to know what's being uploaded organically and what's a paid advertisement. This declaration also will motivate the influencer to study about the brand/product and investigate their claims before they go all out publicizing them. Post formulation we'll surely see less cases of misleading advertisements, safeguarding both the consumer spends and influencers getting caught off guard for their claims - <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Ankit Agarwal, Founder, Do Your Thng" text="Ankit Agarwal, Founder, Do Your Thng">Ankit Agarwal, Founder, Do Your Thng</cmsannotation> USA’s FTC and UK’S ASA both issued regulations years back outlining explicit do’s and don'ts for influencers. It was high time influencer marketing in India followed the same path. The lack of guidelines gave more oxygen to damaging content, and it chipped away the hard-earned trust in creators. When consumers know an ad is an ad or content just that – mere organic content, which is one of the rules in the draft: upfront labelling on ads; the confidence in a creator is not broken. When creators are authentic, including being straightforward about sponsored content, they make more impact and deliver deeper engagement. That’s why I have been vocal about the necessity for the entire niche to abide by advertising rules from day one. With this framework from ASCI, that hopefully comes into play in April, we finally move the needle on streamlining the sector that has been unorganised for far too long. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Ramya Ramachandran, Founder &amp; CEO, Whoppl" text="Ramya Ramachandran, Founder &amp; CEO, Whoppl">Ramya Ramachandran, Founder &amp; CEO, Whoppl</cmsannotation> In line with the latest regulation imposed by the ASCI, the need for total transparency in the realm of influencer marketing has been rightfully reaffirmed. In today’s time and age, when influencer marketing is growing at an unprecedented pace and almost everybody wants to become an influencer, it is the need of the hour to safeguard a consumer’s right to information and transparency. With major fiascos like the Fyre Festival, it has become urgently crucial to come up with influencer marketing strategies and content that are 100% credible and verified. Here at Whoppl, content is the hero for us and we have always ensured transparency by fully disclosing the influencer’s professional contract with us—by getting the sponsorship tag in place, for instance, wherever required. In fact, we always strive for a strategy wherein we ask the influencers to first try out the product/service, make their opinions and create authentic content as per their tonality, while also ensuring full disclosure of their partnership with the brand. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Jo Broner, WIBA Spokesperson (Paris)" text="Jo Broner, WIBA Spokesperson (Paris)">Jo Broner, WIBA Spokesperson (Paris)</cmsannotation> At the heart of it, ASCI is recognizing the digital influencer space as part of the mainstream industry now, which is very good news for the influencers. It is going to build more trust between the artists and their audience with increased transparency. It also means the marketers have to channelize verifiable information and not unverifiable marketing claims. Influencers connect with curated communities, who listen to them for the credibility they bring, so they have an inherent moral responsibility to not breach the trust of their audience, ASCI is bolstering it with new laws, and that is going to bring in due discipline in the environment, so it's a welcome move. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Divyanshu Damani, Co-founder of TagMango" text="Divyanshu Damani, Co-founder of TagMango">Divyanshu Damani, Co-founder of TagMango</cmsannotation> In this digital-age amid a plethora of marketing platforms, influencer marketing has carved its own niche. However, there was a need for guidelines that further enhances the trust of consumers in influencers. As the influencers also need to understand that when they partner with a brand, they share their own trust in the brand with their communities and audience. So, it becomes highly critical for them to only undertake the partnerships that they believe will positively impact their audience. Therefore, in my opinion, it is an extremely vital move. The guidelines issued will allow them to deeply evaluate the offering and the trust that they’re sharing. Furthermore, it would reduce the overall funnel of their brand partnerships and thus, push them to think about opting for sustainable monetary options which we are building at TagMango. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Pranav Panpalia, Founder, OpraahFx" text="Pranav Panpalia, Founder, OpraahFx">Pranav Panpalia, Founder, OpraahFx</cmsannotation> The ASCI guidelines are simple and easy to adhere to. The guidelines are more or less similar to the west. In the past couple of years, this has been thoroughly implemented by international influencers and I am happy to see India leading in the same direction. This will definitely make the digital ecosystem more responsible and streamlined. I am in complete agreement with all the points of the guidelines, especially with the fact that images and videos should not be altered or beautified by influencers while advertising on social media. Since digital media caters to a much more aware audience set, keeping it real is the only way to connect with them. Looking forward to a more transparent digital world. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Rajni Daswani, Director at SoCheers" text="Rajni Daswani, Director at SoCheers">Rajni Daswani, Director at SoCheers</cmsannotation> Influencer marketing is a $100 million industry in India now, and brands of all kinds - big or small - are benefiting from using influencers &amp; content creators to drive their business objectives. The fact that it’s been unregulated so far, we have seen some brands sneakily get away with things that would not be considered ethical if it were to be shown in a TVC or an OOH. The guidelines will serve as a good guardrail in these cases. However, on the flip side, the popularity of influencer marketing in a brand’s marketing budget is due to the flexibility of communication that allows them to showcase the benefits of their products &amp; services in different ways without it looking very promotional. Digital consumers today are smart enough to understand what is an Advert vs what is organic, and hence brands are willing to pay more to get their promotional material to look as organic as possible. With these guidelines kicking in, we might see the overall engagement and reach with influencers drop and might see it get the same status quo as a paid media ad on digital. I think while these guidelines are necessary, they should not be extremely stringent so as to avoid creating a dent in the overall influencer marketing industry that is growing at a faster pace than ever. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Ambika Sharma, Founder &amp; MD, Pulp Strategy" text="Ambika Sharma, Founder &amp; MD, Pulp Strategy">Ambika Sharma, Founder &amp; MD, Pulp Strategy</cmsannotation> The influencer industry is growing fast. According to digital marketing agency AdLift, India’s influencer market is estimated at $75-$150 million a year as compared to the global market of $1.75 billion. This is an industry that has become mainstream within the advertising space and is only expected to grow as more and more Indians are going online. It’s no wonder that brands across sectors are associating with influencers to get across their marketing messages. So, much of what influencers post is promotional and a lot of it is not identified as such. Such non-disclosure is a disservice to consumers and is misleading. With the guidelines, ASCI will assist consumers, brands and content creators to ensure all stakeholders’ interests are preserved through a self-regulatory approach. The digital space is huge and promotional content is often indistinguishable from regular posts. Consumers have the right to easily recognise promotional content. These guidelines will help the consumers to identify promotional content and also guide digital influencers. These guidelines will benefit the consumers and the digital influencers. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Gautam Madhavan, Founder &amp; CEO, MAD Influence" text="Gautam Madhavan, Founder &amp; CEO, MAD Influence">Gautam Madhavan, Founder &amp; CEO, MAD Influence</cmsannotation> I'm very happy with the new set of guidelines set by asci. It's good for business and shows Influencer Marketing in India is just going to grow more aggressively. This also helps consumers identify which content is commissioned and which is not , and accordingly their buying decisions is more rationale.

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