September 15, 2025; Mumbai, India: The Market Research Society of India (MRSI) announces Kantar Insights and Bharti Airtel Ltd as the winner for their original research paper titled, ‘Reconstructing Bharat: A Scientific Approach to Estimating India’s Population Demographics at a District Level’ at its 33rd Annual Market Research Seminar. Knowledge Excel’s ‘Guardians of the Survey: Fighting Fraud to Protect Research Integrity and Data Quality Benchmarking’ and Zee Entertainment Enterprises and Third Eye Integrated Services’ ‘Streaming the Paradox – Gen Z and the Intergenerational Remix’ were announced as the runner-up at the seminar. The Seminar spotlighted ‘The Power of And’ with 22 shortlists from over 100 submissions, who presented their original research papers.
The Seminar kickstarted with a keynote address by Dr. Saurabh Garg, Secretary-Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India. He began his address by expressing his delight at witnessing the market research industry coming together at such a large scale. Dr. Saurabh Garg emphasised the critical role of data in shaping India’s development journey. He underlined the government’s focus on data-driven decision-making for Viksit Bharat, aiming for a $30 trillion economy and higher per capita income over the next 25 years. Stressing the importance of collaboration with private enterprises, academia, and global practices, he pointed to innovations in AI, ML, geospatial, and alternative data that are strengthening insights for policymaking with initiatives like district-level estimates and improved data portals.
A knowledge panel comprising Dr. Ashish Bajaj, Group Chief Marketing Officer at Narayana Health, K. Ramakrishnan, Managing Director – South Asia, Worldpanel by Numerator, and Vishnu Shankar, Chief Cluster Officer – &TV FTA & Music, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., witnessed perspectives on how brands can authentically thrive across India’s diverse cultural, social, and economic realities. Aradhana Lal, Senior Vice President – Sustainability & ESG, Lemon Tree Hotels; Karthik Nagarajan, CEO of Hogarth India; Vijay Raj, Head of Global CMI, were also among the other guest speakers who addressed the Research and Insights industry.
An engaging panel discussion on ‘Joys and Dilemmas of Insight in the age of Technology’ added depth to the proceedings. The panel which was moderated by Chandan Mukherji – Director & Executive Vice President, Strategy, Marketing & Communication, Nestlé India featured leaders including Dixit Chanana – Managing Director, Toluna India; Oslando Desouza – Vice President, Consumer Insight, HUL; Sharmila Das – Chairwoman, Purple Audacity; Siddhartha Nangia – Co-Founder, Smytten; Subhranshu Rout – Head, Consumer Insights & Intelligence, Bharti Airtel and Soumya Mohanty, Managing Director, Chief Client & Solution Officer for Kantar.
Nitin Kamat, Chief Growth & Partnerships Officer, TAM Media Research and President at Market Research Society of India, emphasised the industry’s responsibility to embrace collaboration and innovation, saying, “The Seminar has always been the beacon of insight leadership in India. This year, with the theme ‘The Power of And,’ we are proud to see the industry embracing integration—between technology and creativity, data and human stories, clients and agencies—to shape the future of market research.”
Adding further, Seminar Committee Chairperson, Rituparna Dasgupta, Executive Vice President – Network Research & Consumer Insights at Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited, said, “This year’s Seminar has been an incredible platform for dialogue, debate, and discovery. What stood out this year was the diversity of ideas — from breakthrough academic research to real-world brand case studies. It reflects the growing maturity and ambition of the Indian insights industry.”
“The seminar showcased how far the industry has come in embracing innovation and collaboration. The richness of discussions and the active participation from across sectors reinforced MRSI’s role as the hub for advancing research excellence in India.” Seminar Committee Co-chair, Roosevelt Dsouza, APAC Head of Customer Success at NielsenIQ India, concluded.
As an independent industry body, MRSI continues to drive advocacy through various initiatives and close conversations with various Ministries. The industry also embraced a Self-Governance Framework for Ethical Conduct Across the Entire Market Research Industry, laid down by The Professional Standards Committee set up by MRSI. This ensures the industry abides by the Code in the Conduct of their business to achieve the highest professional standards.
With Lead Partner SmyttenPulse AI, the 33rd Annual Market Research Seminar was supported by Associate Partners Toluna and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited, as well as Premium Session Partners Kantar, Nestlé, ITC, and Hindustan Unilever Limited.
For more details, visit: mrsi.co.in
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