The Signal Brief

Walk into most supermarkets today and you’ll see the organic label everywhere. Organic coconut oil. Organic rice. Organic yellow daal . Still, many Indian consumers don’t fully trust the label. Others worry about their health, but say organic food is simply too expensive. Despite that, the organic food market in India is growing fast. IMARC valued it at around $1.9 billion in 2024 and said it coul...

In 2024, hackers broke into WazirX, once one of India’s largest crypto exchanges, and stole more than 230 million dollars’ worth of crypto. 21-year old Krish who lost money in the hack says he's considering moving his money away from Indian exchanges to American ones. His decision highlights a larger problem in India’s crypto market. India hasn’t banned crypto trading. But it hasn’t legalised it e...

Pickleball is everywhere. On Instagram. In private clubs. In neighbourhood courts across Indian cities. Industry and association estimates suggest the number of players has grown by around 275% since 2021, and could cross one million by 2028. Supporters say pickleball could become India’s next cricket. But, critics see it as an elite South Delhi, South Bombay sport. So who’s right? And how accessi...

2025 was exciting The Signal Brief . Across the many conversations we had this year, one theme kept coming up. A lack of trust. In our episode on E20 petrol, we learned that even well intentioned policies can fail when consumers don’t trust them. In our reporting on supplements , doctors told us that many people are buying health shortcuts without clear evidence. And in our episode on vaping, expe...

Consider this. It’s Dec 2026. You have an AI agent. You ask it to plan a trip to Bali. Flights booked. Resort selected. Except, the AI hallucinates. Instead of Bali, it books your stay in Pattaya, Thailand. The money’s gone. And no human ever approved the decision. Generative AI already helps us write, plan, and research. Experts say the next phase is agentic AI, meaning systems that don’t just as...

When you go out to eat and spot that 10% service charge, what do you do? Pay it? Remove it? Argue about it with your friends? In 2022, India banned mandatory service charge. But many restaurants still add it. Consumers I spoke to said they get service charge removed. They prefer to tip workers directly.  Most workers said they appreciate tips. But some said they feel insulted about it.  In the lat...

You’ve probably heard of avocado toast. But have you heard of avocado dosa? Avocado pani-puri? Or even avocado biryani? Across the country, restaurants are experimenting with this once-exotic fruit. And as prices fall, more Indians are adding avocados to their plates for its taste, texture, and health benefits. Since 2014, India’s avocado imports have jumped by over 11,000% and could cross 20,000...

Seen those videos of people wearing large headsets and entering a different world? That’s called virtual reality technology; it's a glimpse of the future India could be heading toward.  India’s mixed reality market – that includes VR and augmented reality or AR – crossed 900 million dollars in 2025, and could touch 1.5 billion by 2030. Indian startups like Tesseract, Ajnalens and Jio Glass are fas...

If you grew up watching Shin-chan , Doraemon , or Dragon Ball-Z you are part of Japan’s soft-power story. Today, anime is a billion-dollar industry in India, and it’s a part of Japan’s bigger plan to win hearts, not wars. From Uniqlo stores to matcha cafés and ramen bowls, Japan’s quiet influence is everywhere.  But what’s really behind this cultural wave? And why does it matter to India right now...

Indian households have nearly 11 percent of the world’s gold, most of it in the custodianship of women. That is more gold than what sits in the official reserves of the United States, Germany, and the International Monetary Fund combined. For centuries, gold has carried both financial and emotional weight in India. But what does it mean to young Indians today? Is it still sentimental, or is it sim...

Revenge. Secret millionaires. Justice served.  No, these aren’t 80s Bollywood film plots; they’re India’s newest obsession: micro-dramas. Investors are betting big. The micro-drama market could reach five billion dollars by 2030, and venture capitalists invested 44 million dollars in the first half of 2025 alone. But beneath the hype lies a deeper story of attention, aspiration, and everyday fanta...

Most adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night. But how many of us actually get that? It’s no wonder the sleep industry is booming. It consists of everything from melatonin gummies, to “sleepy-time” teas to wearables like Oura rings.  But do you really need these supplements? And how far is too far when it comes to buying sleep? We speak to doctors and consumers to find out in the latest episo...

In September 2019, India banned e-cigarettes with a sweeping law, the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act. On paper, the ban was complete: no manufacture, no import, no transport, no sale, no ads. And yet, six years later, vaping hasn’t gone away. A few scrolls through Instagram, or a quick search online, and you’ll find vapes with flavours like blueberry, lemon, mint and rose. The government...

For decades, Indian professionals have chased the ‘American Dream’. At the centre of it all sits the H-1B visa, the pass that lets you live and work in America, and eventually apply for a green card. But that dream is looking shaky. On September 19th, US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation adding a one-time fee of 100,000 dollars to every new H-1B application. For young Indians hoping to...

In 2019, Apple Watches outsold the entire Swiss watch industry by volume. But in India, the boom came after the pandemic, when fitness tracking became a craze among consumers. Brands like Noise, boAt and Fire-Boltt sold watches for just a couple of thousand rupees. By late 2022, India had even overtaken North America as the biggest smartwatch market. Now the shine is fading. In the second quarter...

Just last week, the US slapped a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applicants. This is one of many moves that's turning Indian students away from the US and UK. But there’s a new destination rising: Germany. According to consultancy Upgrad, only 13% of surveyed students applied to study in Germany back in 2022. By 2024, that number jumped to 32%. So what’s pulling Indians toward Germany? Find out in t...

Electricity theft is a huge issue in India. To curtail losses, and to update the country’s infrastructure, the Indian government launched Smart Meter National Programme (SMNP) in 2017. Its goal was to replace 25 crore conventional meters with smart meters by March 31, 2026.  But, by mid-July, power entities had installed only 2.41 crore smart meter units, according to government data . That’s just...

India’s supplement industry is booming right now. Conservative estimates say that this industry is growing at a CAGR of 11%, but some experts even place its growth rate at 16-18%. Supplements as a concept isn’t new, but what is new is that new-age brands are packaging their products in a stylish way. Rather than selling straight up tablets, they sell effervescent tablets, gummies and even multivit...

Finding a home on rent is challenging. Many landlords have arbitrary rules. They say they’ll only rent to couples or families, or people with certain jobs. As more young people move to cities to study and work, they need housing. Enter: co-living spaces. These are shared living environments, where a professional company manages your daily chores, housekeeping and even cooking for you. Reports say...

On August 22, the Indian Parliament passed the 'Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill'. After getting the President's assent, it became law. This law bans all real-money gaming, skill and chance-based. While many support this bill, there’s dissenting voices too. People say that lawmakers passed it too quickly and didn’t invite public opinion. The government says that real money gaming is...

India is an energy-insecure country. Last year, the country imported 87.7% of the crude oil it consumed. To change that, the government introduced blended petrol in 2018. At first, it was petrol with 10% ethanol. By the end of 2025, the government will roll out petrol with 20% ethanol. In fact, in July, the Road Ministry published draft norms and sought feedback on allowing manufacturers to make 1...

Earlier this year, it was reported that a man didn’t get hired because of his poor CIBIL score. Another person was about to get married, but when the bride’s uncle checked his CIBIL score, the uncle decided to call off the wedding. Today, your CIBIL score isn’t just a number, it’s your financial reputation.  Still, many Indians aren’t aware of what their CIBIL scores are. A YouGov and CRED survey...

Indian students form 27% of the international student body in the US. The US has some of the world’s best universities, with top resources and faculty. Even though studying there is expensive, many Indian students still aspired to go abroad. They’d apply for education loans and aim to get a high-paying job to pay those back. But, that could change now. The Trump administration has been deporting s...

Next year, Novo Nordisk’s patents for semaglutide — the key ingredient in weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy — will expire in India. Indian pharmaceutical companies are already racing to develop generic versions. Right now, these drugs cost anywhere between Rs 17,000 and Rs 26,000 per month. But generics could cost up to 90% less, according to some estimates. That means many more people in India...

If you haven’t heard of or used AI or Artificial Intelligence tools you’re probably living under a rock. Still, according to an IIM-Ahmedabad  study , even though Indian workers recognize how big AI is and will be, many don’t feel adequately prepared to deal with this shift.  There’s several courses in the market that teach people AI skills. Traditional institutes like IIMs offer certificate cours...