Award-Winning Paper on Demographic Insights
Mumbai, September 16, 2025: The Market Research Society of India (MRSI) has announced Kantar Insights and Bharti Airtel Ltd as the winner of its 33rd Annual Market Research Seminar. Their original research paper, “Reconstructing Bharat: A Scientific Approach to Estimating India’s Population Demographics at a District Level”, earned the top honor this year.
The runner-up papers were:
“Guardians of the Survey: Fighting Fraud to Protect Research Integrity and Data Quality Benchmarking” by Knowledge Excel
“Streaming the Paradox – Gen Z and the Intergenerational Remix” by Zee Entertainment Enterprises and Third Eye Integrated Services
This year’s seminar celebrated the theme “The Power of And”, featuring 22 shortlisted papers from over 100 submissions.
Keynote Address by Dr. Saurabh Garg
The seminar opened with a keynote from Dr. Saurabh Garg, Secretary – Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India. He highlighted the importance of data-driven policymaking in India’s development journey towards a $30 trillion economy.
Dr. Garg emphasized:
Collaboration between government, private enterprises, and academia
Use of AI, ML, geospatial, and alternative data for stronger insights
The need for district-level estimates and improved data portals
Knowledge Panels and Industry Perspectives
A knowledge panel brought together senior leaders including:
Dr. Ashish Bajaj, Group CMO, Narayana Health
K. Ramakrishnan, MD – South Asia, Worldpanel by Numerator
Vishnu Shankar, Chief Cluster Officer, Zee Entertainment
They shared perspectives on how brands can authentically thrive in India’s diverse cultural, social, and economic environment.
Other guest speakers included Aradhana Lal (Lemon Tree Hotels), Karthik Nagarajan (Hogarth India), and Vijay Raj (Global CMI).
Panel Discussion: Insights in the Age of Technology
An engaging session on “Joys and Dilemmas of Insight in the Age of Technology” was moderated by Chandan Mukherji (Nestlé India) and featured:
Dixit Chanana, MD, Toluna India
Oslando Desouza, VP – Consumer Insight, HUL
Sharmila Das, Chairwoman, Purple Audacity
Siddhartha Nangia, Co-Founder, Smytten
Subhranshu Rout, Head – Consumer Insights, Bharti Airtel
Soumya Mohanty, MD & Chief Client & Solution Officer, Kantar
Industry Leaders on Collaboration and Innovation
Nitin Kamat, President, MRSI and Chief Growth & Partnerships Officer at TAM Media Research, noted:
“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.”
Rituparna Dasgupta, Seminar Chairperson and EVP – Network Research & Consumer Insights, Zee Entertainment, added:
“This year’s Seminar was an incredible platform for dialogue, debate, and discovery. The diversity of ideas — from academic research to brand case studies — reflected the growing ambition of the Indian insights industry.”
Roosevelt Dsouza, Co-chair and APAC Head of Customer Success at NielsenIQ India, concluded:
“The richness of discussions reinforced MRSI’s role as the hub for advancing research excellence in India.”
Commitment to Ethical Standards
MRSI reaffirmed its commitment to ethical practices through its Self-Governance Framework for Ethical Conduct, laid down by its Professional Standards Committee. This framework ensures the highest level of professionalism across the market research industry.
Partners and Supporters
The 33rd Annual Market Research Seminar was made possible with the support of:
Lead Partner: SmyttenPulse AI
Associate Partners: Toluna, Zee Entertainment Enterprises
Premium Session Partners: Kantar, Nestlé, ITC, Hindustan Unilever Limited
🔗 For more details, visit: mrsi.co.in
