iWorld
India’s Economic Survey 2025-26 calls for age-based limits on social media access
DELHI: India is contemplating age-based restrictions on social media as the government confronts a new challenge: digital addiction among children and adolescents. In its annual Economic Survey, chief economic adviser V Anantha Nageswaran warned that the country’s rapid internet penetration, nearly one billion users, supported by around 750 million smartphones, is exposing younger users to compulsive behaviour, harmful content, and excessive screen time, which could have long-term consequences for learning, mental health, and productivity.
“Children and teenagers are particularly vulnerable,” Nageswaran said. “Unchecked access to digital platforms can impair attention spans, disrupt sleep, and affect academic performance. Policy intervention, coupled with parental oversight, is essential.”
The survey recommends considering a minimum age for social media access, while also making platforms more accountable. This could involve mandatory age verification, default settings tailored to minors, and tools that nudge healthy digital habits. At the family level, Nageswaran urged device-free hours, offline interactions, and limits on recreational screen use as part of a broader strategy to protect children’s cognitive and emotional development.
Globally, governments are moving in a similar direction. Australia recently became the first country to ban social media for children under 16, while France’s National Assembly has backed legislation restricting access for those under 15. Countries including Britain, Denmark and Greece are actively examining comparable policies. India’s Economic Survey draws on these international precedents, suggesting that similar interventions may be needed in the world’s fastest-growing internet market.
At the state level, momentum is building. Goa and Andhra Pradesh have announced panels to study Australia’s regulatory framework and explore potential restrictions for children below 16. These initiatives reflect a growing recognition that unregulated social media usage among youth is not merely a personal or parental concern, but a societal one with long-term economic and cultural implications.
Social media companies have so far responded cautiously to calls for regulation. Meta has expressed support for laws that strengthen parental oversight, yet warned that outright bans could push teenagers toward unregulated and less safe online spaces. YouTube and other platforms have also introduced content filters, screen-time reminders, and family-friendly defaults, but critics argue these measures are piecemeal and insufficient in a market of India’s scale.
Analysts note that the stakes are high. India is now one of the most important growth markets for global tech giants. Advertising and user engagement metrics are booming, fueled by low-cost data plans and widespread smartphone adoption. Yet the very factors driving growth are also contributing to what experts are calling a “digital health crisis” among the country’s youth.
The survey highlights a spectrum of risks: declining academic performance, increased workplace distraction, sleep deprivation, and reduced attention spans. It also flags psychological and behavioural risks, including compulsive use, social comparison, and exposure to harmful content. The chief economic adviser emphasised that these are not abstract concerns: they have tangible impacts on human capital and the economy’s future productivity.
While the Economic Survey’s recommendations are not legally binding, they carry weight and often shape policy discussions at the central and state levels. Lawmakers and regulators are expected to consider the implications seriously, particularly as states like Goa and Andhra Pradesh pilot frameworks to curb minors’ access to social media.
Experts argue that regulation must strike a delicate balance between protecting children and preserving access to information, creativity, and connection. Excessive restrictions risk alienating youth or driving them to alternative, less secure platforms, while too little oversight can entrench harmful digital habits. Nageswaran’s call for age-based rules alongside platform accountability represents an attempt to navigate this tension.
The debate over digital addiction comes at a critical moment. India has leapfrogged into the world’s largest online market, yet it does not have a uniform minimum age for social media access. Families, educators, and policymakers are grappling with questions that extend beyond individual behaviour to the country’s broader social and economic health.
As platforms continue to innovate and expand, introducing AI-driven recommendations, short-form video and gamified engagement, the need for thoughtful regulation and responsible use has never been greater. The Economic Survey’s recommendations signal that the government is preparing to take a more active role, nudging families, platforms and regulators toward shared responsibility.
With children’s mental health, educational outcomes and productivity at stake, India’s experiment with age limits, platform accountability and parental guidance could set a precedent for the rest of the world. The debate is only just beginning, but one thing is clear: the screen is no longer just a device; it is a battleground for the country’s future.
iWorld
Netflix celebrates a decade in India with Shah Rukh Khan-narrated tribute film
MUMBAI: Netflix is celebrating ten years in India with a slick anniversary film voiced by Shah Rukh Khan, a nostalgic sprint through a decade that rewired how the country watches stories. The campaign doubles as both tribute and reminder: streaming did not just enter Indian homes, it quietly rearranged them.
Roll back to 2016 and television still dictated schedules. Viewers waited weeks, sometimes months, for favourite films to appear on prime time. Family-friendly filters narrowed options further, and piracy often filled the gaps. Then Netflix arrived, softly but decisively, carrying a catalogue of international titles rarely seen in Indian theatres and placing them a click away. Old blockbusters and new releases suddenly coexisted on the same digital shelf.
The platform’s real inflection point came in 2018 with Sacred Games, a breakout series that refused to dilute India’s grit for global comfort. Audiences embraced its unvarnished tone, signalling readiness for stories that did not need box-office validation or censorship compromises. What followed was a steady procession of relatable narratives. Competitive-exam anxiety fuelled Kota Factory. College relationships unfolded in Mismatched. Everyday pressures, not grand spectacle, proved bankable.
Language barriers thinned as foreign series arrived with Hindi, Tamil and Telugu dubbing, expanding viewership beyond urban English-speaking pockets. Marketing mirrored the shift. For global releases such as Squid Game, Netflix leaned on regional creators and influencers to localise buzz and make international content feel native.
The library widened beyond fiction. Documentaries stepped out of festival circuits into living rooms. Stand-up comedians found scale. Established filmmakers, including Sanjay Leela Bhansali with Heeramandi, embraced the platform’s long-form canvas. Subscriber numbers swelled to 12.37 million in India, according to Demandsage, and behaviour followed suit. Late-night binges became routine. Friday release rituals loosened. Watch parties turned solitary screens into social events.
Economics demanded adjustment. Early subscription pricing carried a premium aura that deterred many households. Over time, Netflix recalibrated plans to align with Indian spending sensibilities, conceding that accessibility is as critical as content. To extend momentum around marquee titles, the platform also experimented with split-season releases, stretching anticipation and watch time.
The anniversary film, narrated by Shah Rukh Khan, captures the linguistic shift that mirrors the cultural one: from “Netflix pe kya dekha?” to “Netflix pe kya dekhein?” The question moved from recounting the past to planning the next binge. In ten years, Netflix morphed from foreign entrant to familiar fixture, exporting Indian stories abroad while importing global ones home. The remote no longer waits; it chooses, clicks and moves on. In the streaming age, patience is out, playlists are in, and the next episode is always one tap away.
e-commerce
Tulasi Mohan Padavala elevated to Associate Director at Blinkit
Gurugram: Blinkit has elevated Tulasi Mohan Padavala to associate director, capping a three-year climb inside the quick-commerce firm and signalling confidence in an executive steeped in ecommerce, category management and on-ground sales execution.
Padavala shared the update publicly, saying he was “happy to share” the promotion, a succinct announcement that nevertheless marks a notable step up within one of India’s fastest-moving delivery platforms. The new role follows nearly three years at Blinkit, where he most recently served as senior category manager from February 2023 to January 2026, focusing on strategic sourcing and assortment planning.
The promotion places Padavala in Blinkit’s mid-to-senior leadership tier at a time when the company continues to expand its rapid-delivery footprint and sharpen category economics. His brief tenure as associate director began in January 2026, with responsibilities expected to span category growth, supplier strategy and cross-functional execution.
Before Blinkit, Padavala spent a short but intensive stint as global ecommerce manager at Wholsum Foods, the parent of Slurrp Farm and Millé, between November 2022 and February 2023. There he worked on digital marketplace expansion and online retail operations, adding a direct-to-consumer and international ecommerce layer to his résumé.
A longer stretch at Amazon shaped much of his cross-border commerce experience. As business development manager for Amazon’s India Global Selling programme from February 2021 to October 2022, Padavala helped Indian D2C brands enter the North American market. His remit ranged from seller recruitment and category revenue management to coordination with industry bodies, regulators and logistics partners. Key outcomes included launching more than 50 D2C consumable brands in the United States, driving a cumulative gross merchandise sales figure of $1m in FY21-22, tripling sales for participating brands during Prime Day through marketing and visibility levers, growing the monthly recurring revenue of more than 10 newly launched sellers from zero to an average $20,000 each, and negotiating ecommerce partnerships that reduced initial launch costs by 20 per cent.
Padavala’s earlier career was forged in the field rather than the dashboard. At Coffee Day Group, he spent close to five years across multiple sales leadership roles. As sales manager in the Greater Delhi Area from July 2019 to January 2021, he led vending-machine and consumables sales for small and medium enterprises with a team of more than 15 assistant and territory sales managers, managed over 2,000 clients, drove upselling and cross-selling, maintained channel partnerships and ensured timely collections. Prior to that, he served as area sales manager in Delhi between May 2018 and June 2019, handling south and east Delhi markets, and earlier in Hyderabad from April 2016 to May 2018, where he led Andhra Pradesh sales for the vending division, supervised service and logistics functions and managed a base of more than 600 machines with a four-member team.
His professional arc began with internships that combined analytics and process improvement. At Boehringer Ingelheim in 2015, Padavala analysed the impact of brand extension on the drug Pradaxa, identified key performance indicators through market research and assessed sales forecasts, recommendations that drew positive responses in pilot studies. Earlier, at Genpact in 2014, he automated manual sales-order backlog reporting using VBA and Excel, increasing efficiency by 800 per cent, and worked on benchmarking metrics within supply-chain planning processes.
From automating spreadsheets to scaling cross-border ecommerce and now steering quick-commerce categories, Padavala’s trajectory tracks the evolution of India’s retail economy itself. Blinkit’s bet is clear: blend data, discipline and delivery speed. The promotion formalises what his career already suggests. In the race for instant commerce, experience that moves from warehouse floors to global dashboards is no longer optional. It is the engine.
e-commerce
Bharatpe plays a super over as Rohit Sharma fronts T20 push
MUMBAI: When the stakes rise and seconds matter, even payments need a match-winning finish. That’s the cue for Bharatpe, which has rolled out Super Over, a nationwide campaign led by Indian cricket captain Rohit Sharma, timed neatly ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
The campaign draws a straight line between the pulse of cricket and the pace of everyday digital payments. A new brand film taps into India’s emotional bond with the game, while positioning UPI as the quiet hero that keeps daily transactions ticking along at match speed.
As part of Super Over, users making payments via Bharatpe UPI can bag daily rewards ranging from match tickets and signed merchandise to a chance to watch a T20 World Cup fixture alongside Rohit Sharma himself. Both consumers and merchants are also assured Zillion Coins on every eligible transaction, adding a little extra sparkle to routine payments.
Behind the scenes, Bharatpe is also batting for safety. The platform is backed by Bharatpe Shield, a fraud-protection layer designed to offer enhanced security, comprehensive coverage and dedicated support aimed at helping users transact with greater confidence as digital payments scale up.
Announcing the campaign, Bharatpe head of marketing Shilpi Kapoor said Super Over mirrors the aspirations of everyday Indians, combining speed, security and instant rewards to make UPI transactions feel both reliable and rewarding.
The campaign will play out across digital platforms, social media and on-ground activations nationwide, staying live through the T20 World Cup season proof that in cricket, as in payments, timing is everything.
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