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<ul><li>As we come closer to the end of 2021, we take a look back at a few learnings from the year, and talk to experts from different industries about what lies ahead.</li><li>In today's feature, we bring you prominent voices from the <keyword id="2014281" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="ooh" source="Orion">OOH</keyword> and <keyword id="1784761" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="experiential" source="Orion">Experiential</keyword> industry who tell us about their expectations from 2022.</li></ul>For years, the Indian Out-of-home (OOH) industry has depended on traditional way of measuring the success of its campaigns which has led to marketers spending less on the medium. With the advent of the digital medium and the marriage of technology, almost all mediums have become more accountable, easily measurable. OOH, however, has taken it time to embrace data and technology. The industry has been long working on a measurement system that will help advertisers better understand the effectiveness of their campaigns and there is hope that in 2022, this system will be up and running, which will be that much-needed boost for the industry. Since the pandemic, OOH has suffered, and most experts feel this measurement system will help the medium get back in the game, and even help make it one of the most effective mediums. Meanwhile, another medium which suffered massive losses due to the pandemic was experiential and live events. The lockdown ensured that people are stuck at their homes. It led to the cancellation of many events. While things were slowly starting to get back to normal at the end of 2020, things came to a complete standstill again, once the country was hit by the second wave in April-May this year. There was hope of things slowly limping towards normalcy with the Covid numbers going down but the spread of Omicron again has put a question mark on the way things progress next year. To understand how things are expected to pan out for both the OOH and Experiential industry in 2022, we spoke to some prominent voices from both the industries and here are their predictions: <keyword id="939652" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="noomi-mehta" source="Orion">Noomi Mehta</keyword>, Chairman &amp; MD, Selvel One <div type="image" title="Noomi." msid="88546058" hostid="261"></div> Measurement to revolutionize Indian OOH There is hope that 2022 will be a standout year for Indian OOH. The industry association has been working on a common currency of measurement and there is hope that we will be able to launch it in the next few months. Once that happens, OOH will not just become more accountable with effective measurement, we will be able to prove that it is perhaps one of the most effective mediums, owing to its reach and impact. While business has been slow, there is hope things will pick up in 2022. We will see the coming together of digital and technology that will help make OOH much more stronger than its current form. <keyword id="2406965" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="atul-shrivastava" source="Orion">Atul Shrivastava</keyword>, CEO, Laqshya Media Group <div type="image" title="atul-main-image" msid="88546322" hostid="261"></div> The year of convergence of OOH and Digital The cliché is more apt than ever before: 2022 will be one of the defining years for both OOH and Experiential media. Needless to add, this is apropos the challenges that were 2020 and 2021. The application of technology and analytics will be the primary trend that we shall hope to see for both the verticals. However, important to point out that it will be the intelligent application of technology that will separate the men from the boys. Convergence between OOH and digital media will make its presence felt in India – and help OOH garner a larger, a more significant share of marketing spends, and indeed a more serious share of the brand managers’ mindspace. Experiential marketing must go/will go far beyond physicality and capitalise on the brilliant ideas and experiences that our agencies can conceive – and again receive the attention that it truly deserves. Overall, we hope that India becomes more democratic in its marketing processes – look at wider audiences and increases her per capita <keyword id="35666" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="advertising" source="Orion">advertising</keyword> spend – which lags significantly behind the more developed markets. Aman Nanda, Chief Strategy Officer, Times Innovative Media <div type="image" title="Image." msid="88546370" hostid="261"></div> Out of home to move Beyond just Brand Advertising OOH advertising has been primarily used for Brand marketing campaigns. Originally, the focus of OOH was to drive high impact and enhance brand awareness. While it still has the potential to do that, we believe now OOH is powered enough to drive tactical brand objectives. Whether it means to target only students near colleges, or to target CXO’s in the morning drive time or to drive sales to the nearest store – out-of-home media is now evolved enough to deliver it. DOOH and PDOOH are growing faster than any other advertising format as a result we are able to offer pin-pointed campaigns – ranging from few hours to multi-years and deliver logic and rationale for ad placement through programmatic and planning tools. OOH also helps now, like no other media, to deliver online response through phones. This ability of OOH to amplify the online activity and drive offline sales is being embraced by brands and will help OOH grow multi-fold in near future. Nandini Nayyar, Associate Vice President, <keyword id="2091244" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="kinetic-india" source="Orion">Kinetic India</keyword> <div type="image" title="nandini" msid="88547222" hostid="261"></div> OOH has seen a lot of disruption, integration, upgradation, and use of contextually targeted campaigns in 2021. A media that has shown high level of resilience and managed to bounce back with the caliber of allowing high consumer interaction as mobility numbers seemed back in order post the pandemic slowdown from the months of August onwards. Organizations like Kinetic India worked towards heavy data ammunitions to back the medium across cities and important touchpoints saw a lot of revival. DOOH, most importantly programmatic way of functioning in particular was in vogue across airports&amp; mall. Cinema as a touch point saw a huge boom with big titles releasing across movie theatres. Clients who were unlikely to advertise through OOH formats in the pre-Covid times reflected a sudden interest in the data backed OOH formats and with Digital, we saw brands advertising through OOH as second preferred medium for a continuous reminder. 2022 will also have its own trend in the OOH, where brands will be mindful of the Omicron and its effects and spends will again be partially dependent on the mobility numbers and seasonality across the cities for various categories. The OOH agencies will need to be cognizant of the situation, brand requirements, act flexible, be spontaneous with their bespoke data driven approach &amp; close on long term deals for better efficiencies across relevant touchpoints. Agencies will also need to move towards transitioning and educating their clients towards investing programmatically on digital OOH formats for the desired ROI. <keyword id="52304" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="roshan-abbas" source="Orion">Roshan Abbas</keyword>, MD, Geometry Encompass <div type="image" title="Roshan Abbas, President, EEMA (1)" msid="88546575" hostid="261"></div> Time for brands to build live experiences In a world of revenge travel and revenge shopping there will be a surge of live experiences. Tickets to concerts are selling out in minutes. NH7 Weekender early bird, India Bike Week, spoken all are returning slowly. It’s time for brands to take advantage and build live experiences. To keep these safe will be paramount so vaccine passes and apps are a must. We have relegated the virtual to the essential. So most knowledge-based events and experiences will have hybrid components to satisfy the remote audience. This will also lead to a surge of all on ground events having a broadcast component. Sanjoy K Roy, Managing Director, Teamwork Arts <div type="image" title="Sanjoy K Roy - MD Teamwork Arts @ JLF 2015 Curtain Raiser (3)" msid="88549459" hostid="261"></div> Hybrid events will continue to dominate 2022 will be dependent on the world opening up and dealing with new variants of Covid -19. Even as digital fatigue abounds and people long for on ground events, celebrations and conferences, there is wish to return to the old `normal’. This is unlikely to play out, hybrid events will continue to dominate with organizers trying to improve the virtual experience and convert these from cookie cutter formats to more endearing and immersive programs. Tech continues to power forward looking to create more opportunities to control our motivations and experiences by ensuring flawless online delivery. <keyword id="1586079" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="dalveer-singh" source="Orion">Dalveer Singh</keyword>, Head of Experiential Marketing - APAC, GroupM Dialogue Factory <div type="image" title="Dalveer Singh, , Head of Experiential Marketing- APAC, Dialogue Factory (1)" msid="88546762" hostid="261"></div> 2022 the year of taking ‘Store to the Door’ The experiential marketing space has been fast changing in the last 5 years and more so in the last couple of months and seems will continue to disrupt. The last two years have been a rollercoaster ride for this highly specialized practice. The biggest trend that we see unfolding in 2022 in this space will be to take the store experience to the door of the consumers across geographies including metros, mini metros, semi-urban &amp; rural cities. The store experiences could be in the form of any of these: AVATARS – Kirana store, General store, modern trade outlet, Pharmacy, Showroom, Mall or Multiplex etc. It will be all about bringing the brand and brand experiences closer to where the consumer lives. The store-to-door experience must marry the best of both physical and digital brand assets, thus creating strong hybrid experiences. All this needs to have a creative spin that surprises, entertains and drives both brand equity as well as brand sales. C ya @ the door!

What 2022 has in store for the Indian Out-of-Home and Experiential industry

<ul><li>In this new year, we want to crystal gaze into what the year has in store for the industry.</li><li>In today's feature, we talk to experts from the out-of-home industry who give us a sense of what one should expect from the <keyword id="2014281" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="OOH">OOH</keyword> industry in 2021.</li></ul>The Covid-19 induced lockdown last year hit the out-of-home industry hard. With people not venturing out for weeks, billboards across the country were left empty. April, May and June almost witnessed zero business. However, as the country started opening up, advertisers started coming back to the medium, slowly but steadily. The festive season, while holding a lot of expectations, did not see the kind of enthusiasm from advertisers as was expected. Everyone was in the ‘let’s-wait-and-watch’ phase, with brands being cautious of spending too much on advertising. However, now despite the virus still being around, people are out and about. And with vaccines soon expected to hit the markets, things will only look up from here. And with increasing mobility with each passing day, one can only hope for things to keep improving. While we might still be some time away from a complete recovery, the process has already started. Segments like OTT, real estate and FMCG have always been big spenders on the medium and with people slowly resuming travel, more and more advertisers are coming back too. It is also expected that 2021 could finally see the boost that Digital OOH has been waiting for in India. We reached out to experts from the OOH ecosystem to understand their expectations from 2021 and here’ s what they had to say. <keyword id="939652" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Noomi-Mehta">Noomi Mehta</keyword>, Chairman &amp; MD, <keyword id="3910022" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="selvel">Selvel</keyword> One <div type="image" title="Noomi-Mehta" msid="80170862" hostid="261"></div> 2021 will be a defining year because the classic form of OOH will not rebound to the extent that we hope it to. I don’t think the normal hoardings across the country are going to be filled, they won’t get the level of occupancy we are looking for. The shift towards digital is extremely clear to me now. Clients are moving their monies to digital not because of any particular reason but because it is one medium that gives them the most accountability where it is possible to measure and trace the actual performance vis-à-vis the money spent. The same is going to happen to outdoor, which is why the recent initiatives we’re taking, to establish a common currency of measurement, is going to be of paramount importance as we move ahead and will lead the way forward. If we’re able to achieve this by the second half of the year, outdoor as a medium will take off definitely. <keyword id="2406965" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Atul-Shrivastava">Atul Shrivastava</keyword>, CEO, <keyword id="2911687" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Laqshya-Media-Group">Laqshya Media Group</keyword> <div type="image" title="Atul Shrivastava - Group CEO - Laqshya Media Group" msid="80170929" hostid="261"></div> The OTT platforms have seen a huge spike in users over the last several months. As the pandemic is slowing down in India, these platforms will invest in both content and the advertising of the content to keep the growth rates up. As per the available data, the unprecedented rise in subscribers in the first half of the year is gradually slowing down. With 60-70% growth witnessed around May, figures for monthly subscriber rise have now reached around 20%. The subscription war is imminent and the platforms must use smart advertising to make their respective brands stronger. The unique suitability of OOH to the digital platforms business has received a lot of business and academic attention – and we expect a lot of the ‘conventional' brands to learn from the experience of OTT platforms. It is because of this compatibility between OTT and OOH that we dominated the promotion of shows on OTT Platforms over the last couple of years. Post the lockdown, OOH came back with a bang. Most visible campaigns were launched by ZEE5 and a few others. Important to note is that India's homegrown platforms, too, have emerged as strong players in OTT category and as leaders in the smart use of OOH media. As per the recent WARC Report, OOH is globally forecast to be the second-fastest growing medium in 2021, with ad spend rising by a fifth (20.2%). We expect this rally to happen in India as well. <keyword id="6814809" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Aman-Nanda">Aman Nanda</keyword>, Chief Strategy Officer, <keyword id="2015316" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Times-OOH">Times OOH</keyword> <div type="image" title="Aman Nanda" msid="80171052" hostid="261"></div> The year 2020 has reaffirmed our faith in the power and impact of OOH media to drive audience sentiment at scale. New categories such as OTT entertainment, online education and hygiene products emerged as the biggest spenders, and OOH spends have shifted from business districts to residential areas, as people are spending more time around their own neighborhoods. The pandemic has also sprung fledgeling remote client relationships, and our team has adapted to remotely working to deliver the best OOH solutions to our esteemed clients across India. Ajay Mehta, Founder and MD, Interactive Television (iTV) and MD, Kinetic India <div type="image" title="Ajay Mehta, Managing Director of Cinema (ITV) and OOH (Kinetic)" msid="80171113" hostid="261"></div> 2021 will be a watershed year for the OOH Industry. From the lows experienced by the industry amidst the lockdown, the industry will start rising aggressively and will clock an extremely high growth rate. This will be on the back of multiple factors including normalising of people <keyword id="1058872" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="out-of-home">out of home</keyword>, to new touchpoints to demand from OOH heavy categories like Auto and OOH. While people interpret the Out of Home Industry as a medium that lacks data points and measurement, the fact is that some of us from the Industry have used the time during the pandemic to create several tools and initiatives which use multiple data points to enable advertisers to plan, execute and measure their investments based on deep insights. 2020 has just been the start of this and I see this trend sustaining and gaining traction in 2021. This year will also see new touchpoints coming into the limelight and programmatic and Digital Out of Home will drive this. Lastly OOH is an impact medium and to achieve the same, we see advertisers demanding more innovative solutions to achieve the same. Fabian Trevor Cowan, Country Head, Posterscope India <div type="image" title="Fabian Cowan Picture" msid="80171199" hostid="261"></div> Every season has its lipstick trend and just because your perfect color is a pinky beige, that doesn’t mean you can’t wear deep burgundy - Bobby Brown This quote pretty much supports my take on the OOH trends for 2021. For the last 230 plus years of its supposed official existence, the OOH medium has witnessed many trends but has always maintained and reinforced its core survival traits of high visibility, high impact and high contextual capabilities. This will continue to be its core growth areas in the future as well. 5 trends that will only help reinforce these attributes will be ‘increased bandwidth speeds’ on the back of the 5G possibility, which will aid DOOH solutions. Usage and inclusions of ‘Diversified data-sets’ will become the norm rather than an exception in planning for OOH. ‘Automated’ platforms’ will be the natural progression for DOOH networks. ‘Tech collaborations’ will come to the fore to enhance the DOOH solutions, making them more realistic and impactful and lastly ‘OOH with a purpose’ will be the underlying premise for all brand communications in 2021 given that a post-pandemic world will seek more meaningful communications from brands.

OOH: What 2021 has in store for the outdoor industry

<ul><li>While Durga Puja/Navratri is here, this year, the festivites are subdued.</li><li>Brands are therefore excercising caution in where and how much they spend in the next few days.</li><li>However, things are gradually improving and there are signs of recovery, experts tell us.</li></ul><keyword id="6357908" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="durga-puja">Durga Puja</keyword> or <keyword id="48284" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="navratri">Navratri</keyword> is one of the biggest festivals in India and every year the festival is marked by marketers pouring in big monies during the nine days of festivity. Actually the festival is so big in states like West Bengal that streets of cities like Kolkata usually become one big advertising canvas. However, things are different this year. With coronavirus still going nowhere, people are cautious. While every year, the streets become adorned by ads and hoardings from brands from all kinds of industries, because this is the best way to grab people’s attentions, this year, even during the festival, advertisers have been cautious. For the ad and marketing industry which saw a huge dip in investments during the first few months of the lockdown, a lot of hope had been resting on the festive season. However, this year there will hardly be a celebration. Just yesterday, the Calcutta High Court also directed all Durga puja pandals in the state to be turned into 'no-entry zones'. Many pandals in the city are barring physical entry of devotees and making the entire experience virtual. Even in other cities, people are planning to give the festivities a skip. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his address to the nation advised people to exercise caution while going out during the festival. So what does this mean for advertisers? Will they get a bang out of their buck if they advertiser this year? Explaining how things are going to be different this year, <keyword id="3364704" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sujata-Dwibedy">Sujata Dwibedy</keyword>, Group Trading Director, Amplifi India, dentsu international said, “Durga Puja in the east and Navratri in the west, are two of the grandest of all festivals, The festival marks the start of the auspicious period. Dussehra is followed by Kali Puja/Diwali/Laxmi Puja and Bhai Dooj. People shop a lot. The purchase of household durables, cars, bikes, home renovations, capital expenditures in businesses are seen in this period. A lot of business-led decisions are also made around this time. However, this year would be different as people would not step out like before, but they would be hooked on to the media to get a glimpse of the Goddess. So, the media/channel who can give them the best experience would score over the others.” Every year, categories like FMCG, apparel, auto, e-commerce and consumer durables become the biggest spenders during the festive season. But have these brands come ahead and advertised this year? <keyword id="8330648" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sidharth-Parashar">Sidharth Parashar</keyword>, President – Investments and Pricing, GroupM India said, “With demand picking up in Aug-Sep, key categories like Ecommerce, FMCG, Telecom, Durables, Auto and certain segments within BFSI are expected see increased ad spends this festive season. FMCG saw recovery in Jul-Sep quarter, driven by essentials like health-hygiene products and immunity boosting food products. Brands in these categories coupled with discretionary like skin &amp; personal care products are likely to see an uptick in consumer spending and therefore in ad spending too. Consumer durables and Retail are expected to benefit from the govt.’s LTC cash voucher and festival advance schemes, which would lead to increased spending from government employees on products like apparels, laptops, smart phones, consumer durables, home appliances, fitness, jewellery, beauty &amp; personal care during this festive. For Ecommerce sector, RedSeer estimates this festive to surpass a GMV of U$D 7Bn. driven by a surge in shoppers from Tier-II towns, considerable discounts available and financing options being easily accessible to consumers. Large players like Amazon and Flipkart are scaling up their supply chain vendors, fulfillment centres and higher manpower for delivery, in order to meet surge in demand and are spending heavily on TV, digital &amp; Print.” While people might give pandal-hopping a skip this year, they have also started spending money. At this point, people are on the lookout for a change, for something positive and this has led to a visible shift in consumer sentiments in the past few months, Dwivedy added, “We are seeing that market sentiments have improved over the past few months. A surge in online purchases has been witnessed through the various platforms. Indian consumers have started embracing the new normal, and consumption of products is back. There are multiple new categories of products, new convenience food products, health, hygiene-related – all have been accepted and are being tried out. In the last few days, the malls have also opened with new offerings from the shops. Many are offering home delivery, video selections and are even ready to send people home with multiple samples for trials. Home delivery of groceries, foods and other products is preferred. Implying that the emotions have revived, the consumption has begun, however, the mode of consumption is new.” This positive sentiment has led to a month-on-month increase in spends since July across categories. “TV has been almost at the same levels as the previous year. Print, on the other hand, is kind of catching up but it will still take some more time in top metros. Nevertheless, Tier II towns are tracking better. Radio has also picked up. OOH and Cinema that have been worst hit this year should see some relief in this quarter,” she explained. While Television has steadily been seeing an increase in ad spends over the past few months, mediums like Radio and OOH that had suffered a lot during the lockdown are hoping to see some recovery. These are both mediums that see a lot of spends during the festive season in normal years. So how are things this year? Abraham Thomas, CEO, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited said, “The festive season is considered the 5th quarter in India, an auspicious time, for businesses across industries, that contributes 40-45% of sales. Marketers certainly leverage this opportunity with ad volumes showcasing a significant surge. Clearly the most trusted and credible media, this lockdown has helped radio being reimagined amongst the audiences with the overall listenership of medium growing by 30%. The surge in listenership across different TG’s have driven ad volumes across Males, Females, the young and older targeted brands. We have witnessed a rise of 24% in Ad Volumes in week 33 with consistent growth in Ad volume from Aug’20 where average Ad volume surged by 4.8 times as compared to April. With the staggered unlocking of the economy, Radio with its ‘mass local reach’, trusted influencers and digital amplification have witnessed a sharp recovery with certain categories booming more than the others.” However, things aren’t all that great in the outdoor medium and Noomi Mehta, Chairman &amp; MD, Selvel One paints a not-so-rosy picture. He said, “Right now we are at 50% in terms of business when compared to a normal year, and if you compare puja-to-puja, we would be at less than 40% this year. It is true that people are venturing out now and there is an opportunity for brands but they are very cautious.” Every year, especially during Navratri/Durga Puja, brands from segments like FMCG, consumer durables etc go all out and make a lot of noise. “But this year, only those forced to advertise are advertising. For instance, auto brands that are launching new offerings are advertising and currently they are out top advertisers. Every year, we see financial institutes, paint companies, e-commerce platforms and apparel brands also invest in festive but that hasn’t happened this year,” he shared. Despite the fact that brands are cautious in spending, data points towards many cities almost coming to a state of normalcy. Shared <keyword id="2406965" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Atul-Shrivastava">Atul Shrivastava</keyword>, CEO, <keyword id="2911687" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Laqshya-Media-Group">Laqshya Media Group</keyword>, “As far as traffic on the roads is concerned, per data generated through SHARP, Laqshya’s traffic metrics platform, traffic in Kolkata is currently 89-92% of normal times and it is increasing every day. Long traffic jams are also back. So, we see that situation is coming back to normal, aided by the festive season.” However, Shrivastava had something positive to share. He pointed towards signs of recovery, even in terms of ad spends. “Even in the current situation, we are seeing brands in the jewellery, textiles, retail, garments, footwear and the automobile sectors spending their pent-up OOH budgets. FMCG brands are also advertising in OOH media, especially for sanitizing products. OTT platforms and entertainment channels are also investing in OOH media to promote new shows and programs. Hence, even if we do not see 100% spend by clients as compared to last year, current spends are around 60-65%.” On what the rest of the year will look like, Arnab Samanta, Head of Marketing, Graphixstory said, “With the nation gradually ‘unlocking’ itself and with IPL happening around the festive season, the markets are much positive of a revival in the second half of the year. Brands will be spending 1.5 times digitally more than the usual plan of action. The advertising spend will be increased, thoughtful engaging ad campaigns and tech innovations like augmented reality will be introduced to create massive engagement with the target audience. The higher ad spends for various brands will be distributed on a different mix of categories and channels compared to last year, depending on consumer trends and shopping pattern. Digital businesses will now make the way for a sharper trajectory.” While things have still not picked up as much as the ad industry had hoped, the number of new coronavirus infections dropped below 50,000 for the first time in nearly three months in India yesterday. So here’s hoping that things will keep getting better gradually and we will have a better and safer Diwali, one that also brings relief to the industry.

Durga Puja and Navratri is finally here, but are advertisers excited?

<ul><li>Founded in 1997 as an outdoor agency, <keyword id="2911687" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Laqshya-Media-Group">Laqshya Media Group</keyword> has today diversified its offerings to events, digital and experiential marketing.</li><li>With revenues of Rs 500 crore currently, the organization is eyeing revenues of Rs 2,000 crore in the next 5 years.</li><li><keyword id="2406965" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Atul-Shrivastava">Atul Shrivastava</keyword>, Group CEO and Executive Director, Laqshya Media Group tells us about the organization’s roadmap ahead.</li></ul> Today, travelling to and from our workplaces take up a lot of our time, especially when you live in a crowded metro city. If a recent report by MoveInSync is to be believed, on an average, Indians spend 7% of their day in commuting to their workplaces. With more and more people spending more time outside their homes, out-of-home (OOH) advertising presents a huge opportunity for brands to come up with larger-than-life communications and hook on the audience with its messaging. It therefore doesn’t come as a surprise that the Indian outdoor industry has been seeing a steady growth of between 10-11% in the past few years. According to Statista, the industry is expected to become worth Rs 5,200 crore by 2024. The past few years have also seen many new-age brands from OTT and e-commerce spend big bucks on OOH, realizing the potential of the medium. Laqshya Media Group has been a part of the OOH ecosystem for 20 years now and has worked for an impressive roster of brands over the years that include Maruti, LG, Quikr, Myntra, Shopper Stop, Platinum Guuild, a Tanishq and Flipkart, among others. We recently caught up with Atul Shrivastava, Group CEO and Executive Director, Laqshya Media Group who tells us that the organization that is right now bringing in Rs 500 crore revenue is eying a revenue of Rs 2,000 crore by 2024-25. He tells us about the organization’s roadmap ahead, its growth strategy, and the role that data and technology will play to make the overall ecosystem more robust and accountable. Edited excerpts: Q) 2019 was a year of slowdown for the economy. How was your performance and what are your expectations from 2020? 2019 was a complete roller coaster year. The year was full of surprises and equal shudders. Mega media events like Indian Premier League, the General Elections, and the Cricket World Cup brought some cheer while, there was a bit of cautious spending visible during the onset of Q3. However overall, it was a decent year for us. The growth definitely wasn’t what we expected but we still managed to grow by 15% compared to last year. We are better prepared for 2020 and the year looks promising and we look forward doing some great stuff as the year progresses. Q) Laqshya Media Group is currently operating at revenues of Rs 500 crore. Where do you want to be in the next few years? Right now we are operating at Rs 500 crore and we are targeting Rs 2,000 crore revenue by 2024-25. It all starts with a vision, followed by a plan. We have followed the simple steps of firstly identifying the opportunities and then going after them aggressively. This has led the company to diversify into many other verticals like Digital Marketing, Experiential Marketing, Events and creative apart from advertising through every format. The markets are conducive, infrastructure and opportunities are good and all our verticals are doing great work and projects individually. We continue to believe in the ‘One Laqshya‘ philosophy. Our teams across verticals breed the common passion and belief of ‘Business with Ethics’, it is this that makes us different and we will continue to hold on to it as we spread our wings. Q) Laqshya launched its in-house tool, ‘SHARP’ (Strategic Hyperlocal AI-powered Reach Planner) in 2019. Tell us a bit about how the tool has helped in making your campaigns more effective? SHARP is a first-of-its-kind state-of-the-art planning tool for measuring the effectiveness and media value of Outdoor campaigns. It’s a tool we have developed in-house that allows brands to target the right audiences with reach or budget as an objective for an OOH campaign. Our clients have benefitted immensely from the science and technology that has gone in all the recent campaigns that we have executed for them. SHARP combines diverse data points involving geo-tagged OOH formats, traffic study by a global research agency, multiple databases to arrive at the current profiles of resident and transit population; panel rating points and various other factors, with data on thousands of sites comprising multiple OOH formats. The OOH tool relies on machine learning to deliver AI-optimized recommendations. In short, with this tool, the days of gut feel is over. What we are giving our clients with this software is a full-fledged and full proof ROI. Q) What role will data and technology play in taking Indian OOH to the next level? The future of OOH is only about using the right technology and big data. There’s no dearth to the extent of data available for targeting. The customized level of geo targeting possible is unimaginable. All these and more can be easily executed in the ambit of the rules laid by TRAI on data privacy. Communication would be more impactful and selective with the right use of data and analytics. Digital OOH is anyways driving the OOH growth globally elsewhere. It will surely evolve the Indian landscape too slowly and gradually. Q) What gives Laqshya an edge over other OOH agencies? We have always embraced Research and Technology like no one else. Our endeavor to develop SHARP was on the same lines. We believed in addressing the needs of the industry as a whole. The language of ROI that has started with SHARP has been successful in helping marketers realize the potential of OOH and has helped us take a giant leap. Q) In the last few years, OTT players have been big investors on OOH. Do they continue to invest big? What are the other segments that are making use of OOH? OTT has invested on OOH and has witnessed the impact it has created in their brand building. It has definitely helped OTT players address their concerns of going mass and geo-targeting. OOH delivers the reach while it also helps geo-fence and create impact towards a niche audience. This is what makes OOH a go-to medium for a lot of OTT players. A lot of newer segments like e-commerce and mobile apps are embracing OOH along with government and political spending like never before but, it is the traditional sectors like real estate and retail that continue to hold the lion’s share. Q) How are you, as an organization ensuring there is more accountability, since this has been an issue plaguing the industry for a while. We believe accountability starts from following and adhering to some set practices ourselves. Our MD,Alok Jalan is the Vice Chairman of <keyword id="1094070" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Outdoor-Advertising-Association">Indian Outdoor Advertising Association</keyword> (IOAA) and is very strongly putting across the uniform guidelines that will make processes more transparent. We can expect a lot of consolidation in the industry from the association’s side. Q) What does the OOH as an industry need to do to make advertisers take them more seriously, and put in more money? OOH needs to convey the advantage it brings to any marketer- the larger-than-life canvas for a greater reach and an equally possible customized impact. It addresses both these objective of any brands effectively. Q) How big is the OOH industry in India right now and what is its potential in the next few years? OOH has been quoted to be somewhere between Rs 3,700-3,900 crore currently. We as a group have a detailed research report that summarizes the overall OOH to be around Rs 5,750 crore and the industry has been growing consistently at an average of around 11% . Q) What is your vision for Laqshya? We want Laqshya to be known as an innovative media and communication company. We want creativity, innovativeness and technology to be the company’s ethos.

Laqshya Media Group is eyeing a 4X increase in revenue, to Rs 2,000 crore in the next 5 years

<ul><li>Borrowers have not had to pay bigger EMIs thanks to extended <keyword id="6360217" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="loan" source="Orion">loan</keyword> tenor until now, but that may change. </li><li>If borrowers push for longer tenors even after the extensions taken due to the last four rate hikes, it will result in the loan becoming negatively amortised. </li><li>Negative amortisation is when original EMIs cannot cover the loan principal which will increase every month. </li></ul>Indian <keyword id="6371902" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="home-buyers" source="Orion">home buyers</keyword> who have been paying back lenders through equated monthly instalments (EMIs) are in for a rude shock as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised a key interest rate for the fifth time this year to 6.25% on Wednesday. Experts say, now, lenders will have to bump up monthly payouts. While the quantum of the central bank’s hike was lower than the last three increases – at 35 basis points as opposed to 50-basis point hikes earlier,<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/rbi-hikes-repo-rate-by-35-bps-taking-rates-to-a-high-of-6-25/articleshow/96045841.cms"> the sharp rise in interest rates in the last seven months </a>will increase the <keyword id="6357050" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="emi" source="Orion">EMI</keyword> burden extensively. Moreso because those borrowers who have been avoiding a bigger EMI in lieu of an extended loan tenor until now, have exhausted this option. Shrikant Shrivastava, chief risk officer, at India Mortgage Guarantee Corporation said that most banks have fully passed on the repo rate increase of 190 bps – in the last four rate hikes – to the consumers of home loans, till date. With the latest rate hike, he expects EMIs to go up further by another 3-5%. “This rate hike of 190 bps has resulted in a loan tenor increase of around 13 years for borrowers who had initially opted for a 20 years loan period, assuming they had taken a <keyword id="6354730" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="home-loan" source="Orion">home loan</keyword> at 6% at the time of home purchase. Alternatively, those borrowers who opted for an EMI increase instead of a loan tenor increase have seen their EMI go up by around 20% already,” said Shrivastava. Current home loan borrowers, who have had their home loan original interest rate at 10-11% and initial <keyword id="15721223" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="loan-tenors" source="Orion">loan tenors</keyword> above 25 years — will have no option but to increase their EMIs. Any attempt to increase loan tenor further, would result in the loan becoming negatively amortised. Negative amortisation is when the EMI is unable to cover the monthly interest payment – it means that every month, the loan principal goes up instead of going down, in spite of payments. That would result in the loan ballooning over the long term, making it expensive for the borrower. Here is how much your interest rate will go up Anuj Puri, the chairman of Anarock Group believes that the rate hike is a set back for new and old borrowers both, as borrowers will have to shell out more per month as EMIs. “Soon, banks and lending institutions will follow suit with today’s repo rate hike and increase their marginal cost of fund-based lending rates (MCLR). For existing borrowers, their EMI will be revised at the reset date of their loans,” Puri said. As the rate of interest is hiked by 0.35% and if it is passed on to the consumer by the banks, then the EMI of a loan of ₹10 lakh taken at 8.5% for ten years will increase by around ₹300 per month, said Atul Monga, chief executive and founder of Basic Home Loan. Similarly, for a ₹50 lakh loan outstanding with a bank at a 10% interest rate spread across 20 years, the effective EMI would be ₹48,251. After the rate hike is passed on, the new EMI would be about ₹49,249 – a monthly increase of ₹998. “To deal with the impact of a higher interest rate, it is important to maintain good credit, research the best rate offers, and consider refinancing existing loans to lower the monthly payments. Customers can also opt for long tenures or switch to a floating rate of interest," Monga said. A few real estate consultants, however, believe that the rate at which banks will pass on the interest rate hike might not be as much. “The rise in policy rate leads to an increase in lending rates, which impacts the sentiment of stakeholders. However, the moderation in repo rate hike augurs well for the real estate sector as its pace has slowed down even as the resultant transmission to end-users is likely to be delayed or moderated by the banks,” said Samantak Das, chief economist, and head of research at JLL India. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/rbi-downgrades-fy23-gdp-growth-projections-to-6-8-percent/articleshow/96047963.cms">RBI downgrades FY23 GDP growth projections to 6.8% - lower than World Bank and other global agencies</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/rbi-hikes-repo-rate-by-35-bps-taking-rates-to-a-high-of-6-25/articleshow/96045841.cms">RBI hikes repo rate by 35 bps, taking it to 6.25% – Das says bank has ‘Arjuna’s eye’ on inflation</a>

Be prepared to pay higher EMIs: No room for loan tenor increase after RBI’s latest rate hike

<ul><li>Laqshya Media says the impact will be minimal, based on their study of the top 8 cities of India. </li><li>94% of the <keyword id="457097" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="purchasing-power">purchasing power</keyword> of the cities is available for brands across verticals, except to FMCG, Food and Housing Brands.</li></ul>The Government of India announced <keyword id="9318169" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Unlock-1-0">Unlock 1.0</keyword>, in effect from 3rd June across cities in India. With this, cities have started normal activities except in the <keyword id="8959677" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="containment-zones">containment zones</keyword> where business activities are still limited to essential services. The study by Laqshya Media Group tried to gauge the loss of opportunity to businesses posed by these containment zones. Laqshya used SHARP, their in-house Strategic Hyperlocal AI-powered Reach Planner to estimate the size and socio-economic attributes of the population living in containment zones. The primary population in most containment zones are composed of NCCS D and NCCS E segments. The study looks at a simulation to estimate the opportunity cost if the entire NCCS D&amp;E populations of the top 8 cities were placed in the containment zones. NCCS D and NCCS E consists of 15% of the total population but constitute only 6% of the purchasing power in the metros. This 6% adds up to Rs. 5000 crores across the cities – but most of the money of these segments are reportedly spent on Food products/FMCG and Housing. The range of purchasing power was estimated for each NCCS segment, using a combination of updated data from various sources. The cumulative population and purchasing power of each NCCS segment was calculated for each of the 8 cities and that of the 8 cities as a whole. “Businesses had come to a halt due to the lockdown in India. But with India opening up in phases this is the ideal time for brands to reboot their marketing efforts. Brands have to re-capture the mind space of their TG with campaigns balanced between awareness and sales pitch. If Brands utilize this time right then they can recover their losses within this financial year.” Atul Shrivastava, CEO, Laqshya Media Group. The study also presents evidence that traffic is quickly getting back to normal across the cities – thereby bolstering the opinion that the time is ripe to re-connect with audiences that have been cooped up at home with little commercial stimulus. The final conclusion of the report is that, even if the containment zones are sealed and the entire NCCS D&amp;E population is inaccessible, 94% of the purchasing power of the cities is available for brands across verticals, except to FMCG, Food and Housing Brands. So, businesses of all verticals have the opportunity to re-engage with the NCCS A, B and C segments now, to make up for loss in business incurred in the last couple of months.

Containment zones will not impact the businesses targeted at NCCS A, B and C: Laqshya Report

<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.

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Containment zones will not impact the businesses targeted at NCCS A, B and C: Laqshya Report

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