Mumbai, 9th April, 2025: Boutique cultural strategy firm, Folk Frequency, has released its latest future-forward research report, ‘India 2030’ — a strategic playbook designed to help brands navigate India’s rapidly changing cultural and consumer landscape. The comprehensive report, which decodes 30+ cultural shifts, offers valuable perspectives on the changes in India’s economy and digital transformation.

Key Findings from the ‘India 2030’ Report

The New Indian Middle Class:

The India 2030 report reveals that India’s middle class will make up more than half of the population, shifting consumption from necessity-driven to experience-first. It further states that the demand for experiential products like casual dining (+49%) and fine dining (+55%) is soaring. This middle class is new in the sense that they are rising out of generational poverty. They are the first in their families to get educated, to earn early in jobs beyond domestic or unorganized labor.

Digital Consumption Reshaping Influence – But Algorithms Reinforce Old Biases:

57% of India’s internet users are in rural and tier-2+ cities, yet ad targeting and content curation still favor metros and English speakers. Because of AIs inherent bias against regional languages, a huge percentage of targeting is being wasted, as it does not reach true aspirational audiences in India, the report indicated.

Higher Literacy Reshaping Consumer Expectations:

The report finds that India’s higher education landscape is undergoing significant transformation, guided by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. A central objective of the NEP is to achieve a Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) of 50% by 2035, a substantial increase from the 26.3% recorded in 2018. India’s literacy rate has also steadily climbed, reducing extreme poverty from 22.5% in 2011 to 10.2% in 2019. More than just economic upliftment, improved literacy is changing mindsets and making consumers more financially aware, brand-conscious, and critical of marketing claims. They now expect transparency and accountability, higher product service and standards, and greater brand trust and storytelling.

Women are India’s New Economic Powerhouse:

The report also indicates that more than half of medical students in India are women, and 14% of businesses are now female-led. In luxury markets, women accounted for 64% of growth in single-malt sales. Products designed for women, rather than adapted for them, will win over consumers. Niche and differentiated products with female aesthetic, handling, and dimensions that feel comfortable, not just ‘not bad’, will appeal to female consumers.

Gen-Z and Alpha Will be India’s Biggest Consumers:

93% of Indian Gen Z and Alpha are key decision-makers in family travel and expect brand alignment with values, inclusivity, and sustainability. Younger Indians are largely growing up westernised through education and exposure to social media. There is a clash of values when it comes to oppression and unsustainable practices in Indian culture – no matter how ancient those may be. They are looking back to Indian history, joining diverse global fandoms, and standing up for what they believe is right, pushing the culture towards a more ‘rights based’ inquiry system that strongly punishes unethical behaviour and cancels businesses and brands that indulge in the same.

Gayatri Sapru, the Founder of Folk Frequency and an Independent Anthropologist, said, “I have seen firsthand how wide the gap is between culture, data, and business strategy. Many of the analyses today are rehashing what is common knowledge because of lack of depth and rigour. This one is different. It is original and rigorous, and offers precise cues on evolving needs, identities, narratives, and positioning to help brands future-proof their relevance.”

In 2022, Folk Frequency unveiled another report titled ‘Girl Uninterrupted’ that transformed how brands saw heartland Indian Gen Z and became a go-to playbook for Fortune 50 companies. ‘India 2030’ takes this further, offering a radical, rooted way to decode the country’s next decade.