Mr. Gautam Raj Anand, Founder and CEO, Hubhopper (India’s largest podcasting and AOD platform)

“With podcasting industry gearing up for a transformational year with the convergence of media, technology and telecom industries coupled with the government’s vision to further accelerate the Digital India program, most experts also support that the Budget 2019 will only help to streamline this transition more positively. This industry is also expected to grow in conjunction with an increase in smartphone user base, provided Ms. Seetharaman continues with her pinpointed focus on digitization.

The Budget is also set to help the innovators in this industry as the government looks towards scaling up digitization across all industries that touch a common person’s life and concerns their needs. We are also hopeful that this will prioritize the growth in the domestic purchasing parity of consumers and build their confidence towards discretionary purchases towards content. This will also boost ad revenues, and the introduction of premium subscription models, as exists in a lot of players for the VOD and AOD space.”