TMS Ep593: Real estate boom, Bollywood's revival, Pulkit Agarwal, GCCs

The domestic housing market in 2023 has seen one of the strongest performances in recent years. The robust growth in the segment is driven by strong demand in the residential market, complemented by supply of new inventories. The year is expected to see a 20 per cent rise in apartment sales in seven major Indian cities. That’s around 2.6 lakh units. But what’s behind this rush to own flats, and who are the buyers?  

Industry analysts expect residential real estate sales in India to touch three lakh units in 2024, on the back of robust demand and quality launches. Meanwhile, the masala in Hindi film industry, which was missing for the past few years, is back in 2023 – minting big bucks for multiplexes nationwide. The resurgence of Bollywood movies is evident in this year’s box office collections that have surpassed pre-pandemic figures for the first time. What, then, were the key ingredients that contributed to this spectacular comeback? 

Following a dream run in 2023, Bollywood’s prospects for the coming year depend on how the industry preps its scripts to outpace competition from OTTs and the appeal of world cinemas. Let us now turn to the outlook for oil markets in 2024. Can the geopolitical developments set the oil prices ablaze and take them past the 100 dollars a barrel mark in the year ahead? Or, will the slowdown in China keep the oil demand and prices in check? Pulkit Agarwal, head of India content, S&P Global Commodity Insights shares his interpretation of the current developments, and how he sees crude oil and gas prices play out in 2024.

According to the Nasscom-Zinnov Report, 18 Global Capability Centres or GCCs were set up in India in the first half of 2023. As of June 2023, there are more than 1,580 in India and more than 1.6 million works in them. This number shows India’s position as a prime destination for setting up Global Capability Centres. So what are Global Capability Centers? Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers.