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Context is everything.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
After a year of inflation, GST resets and uneven demand, Parle reflects on what still drives India’s mass market consumption.
This is the second story in the special year-end series where we speak to industry leaders on the year that went by, and what to look out for in 2026.
It has been a testing year for India’s fast-moving consumer goods sector. Uneven rural demand, an urban demand growth slump, persistent input cost pressures and sharp price sensitivity across categories—2025 forced consumer goods makers to recalibrate, often in real time.
Amid such challenges, the year also offered clear signals on what endures in India’s mass market: trust, affordability and scale.
Few companies symbolize all these attributes; even fewer have had …
Though the war in the Gulf is pinching the Indian economy, things aren’t too bad. But much needs to be done if the situation drags on or worsens, rather than waiting for it to come to pass.
How well rural consumption is doing is subjective. What isn’t subjective is how growing indebtedness, combined with stagnant income growth, is creating a tinderbox for households, banks and consumer companies that no one is talking about.
The kingdom approves its awaited state budget for next year, the Emirates records a new high in economy and Yas Island goes driverless, among other updates.
