TVS Motor bikes into global third spot
PLAYBOOK UPGRADE. With premiumisation, TVS is gaining on Hero and Honda on home turf. But Japanese rivals continue to dominate.
The global two-wheeler hierarchy has undergone a rare shift in CY2025, with TVS Motor Company overtaking Yamaha to become the third-largest manufacturer by volume, marking a milestone for India’s auto industry. But the achievement also underscores a deeper structural gap: Collectively, Indian manufacturers continue to trail their Japanese rivals by over 10 million units annually.
Honda alone sells more than 20 million units globally, while Yamaha and Suzuki together outpace the combined volumes of India’s ‘Big Three’ — Hero MotoCorp, TVS Motor, and Bajaj Auto. For TVS, the more immediate challenge lies closer home, where it trails Hero and Honda in the domestic market.
CLOSING THE GAP
The gap, however, is narrowing. TVS Motor’s rise has been driven by a strategy anchored in outpacing industry growth. “We are confident that we will do better than the industry growth, both in domestic and international markets,” Managing Director KN Radhakrishnan said during a recent earnings call.
This outperformance is already visible in retail trends. According to Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) data for FY26, TVS grew its retail volumes by 22.49 per cent, way beyond the industry’s 13.4 per cent growth.
Its market share rose to 18.89 per cent from 17.49 per cent a year earlier, while Hero MotoCorp’s share edged down to 28.4 per cent. The shift is even more visible against Honda — the gap between Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India and TVS narrowed to 6.14 percentage points in FY26 from 7.88 percentage points a year earlier.
PREMIUMISATION
At the core of this momentum is a calibrated shift toward premiumisation. The company has leaned into feature-rich motorcycles and scooters such as the Raider, Apache range, Jupiter, and Ntorq.
“Premium and super-premium are growing faster,” Radhakrishnan said. This shift is being validated — and increasingly seen as structural, rather than cyclical.
“Growth is being driven by a richer domestic vehicle mix and higher export volumes,” Axis Securities said in a recent sector note, pointing to improving realisations and stronger product positioning. Kotak Institutional Equities, in its March quarter earnings preview, endorsed this view and expects this shifting mix to continue driving earnings improvement.
Together, these assessments suggest that TVS Motor’s growth is not merely volume-led but increasingly also quality-led — better pricing, stronger mix, and a widening presence in higher-margin segments. The strategy is also portfolio-led. “We always look at the total portfolio contribution… we don’t look segment-wise,” Radhakrishnan said.
A CHANGING DEMAND CYCLE
This positioning is reshaping the domestic market. TVS is capturing urban demand through premium products while riding a rural recovery. FADA data shows rural growth at 13.05 per cent and urban growth at 13.62 per cent in FY26, pointing to a convergence that increasingly favours higher-spec models.
The traditional divide between rural and urban consumption is narrowing, expanding the addressable market for premium offerings. “With the kind of infrastructure getting built in India… mobility needs… and affordability, I’m a firm believer that 8–9 per cent CAGR is sustainable,” Radhakrishnan said.
EXPORTS POWER GROWTH
International markets are emerging as a key growth engine. TVS has expanded across Africa and Latin America. “The demand in Africa continues to grow… LatAm also has grown,” Radhakrishnan said.
Analysts see exports as both a volume and margin lever. “A higher export mix is supporting margins across auto companies,” Kotak noted, linking international expansion to improved earnings quality. Yet Southeast Asia remains the toughest market. Indonesia and Vietnam continue to favour Japanese incumbents, making ASEAN the last frontier for Indian OEMs.
THE EV WILD-CARD
Electric mobility could reset the competitive order, but also determine whether TVS can translate momentum into leadership. TVS emerged as the market leader in India’s electric two-wheeler segment in FY26, retailing about 341,513 units and capturing a 24 per cent market share, according to FADA data. The 43.5 per cent year-on-year growth helped it overtake early mover Ola Electric.
Unlike several competitors, TVS has taken a calibrated approach — scaling up through its iQube platform while leveraging its distribution network and brand strength. This has helped it expand beyond early adopters to more mainstream buyers — a shift that has proved challenging for both start-ups and legacy players.
EV penetration is also rising. FADA data shows electric two-wheelers accounted for 6.54 per cent of total volumes in FY26, with monthly penetration nearing double digits. This positions EVs not just as a new segment but also a structural shift that could reshape market share over time, potentially accelerating TVS Motor’s climb in the domestic hierarchy.
LEGACY STRENGTHS
However, the transition comes with trade-offs. “Margins could be impacted by the margin-dilutive mix of EV scooters,” Axis Securities said, highlighting near-term profitability pressures. At the same time, Kotak noted that “operating leverage and improved product mix” continue to support margins, suggesting that legacy strengths remain relevant even as EV investments rise.
For TVS, the EV strategy mirrors its broader approach. “Continue to grow the top line… improve the product mix,” Radhakrishnan said. The challenge will be in converting early leadership into durable scale as the market shifts from subsidy-driven adoption to demand-led growth.
THE ROAD AHEAD
At the premium end, TVS is sharpening its global ambitions through Norton Motorcycles. “We will have a differentiated strategy for Norton,” Radhakrishnan said.
The rise to the global top three marks a coming-of-age moment, but not the endgame. Closing the gap with Hero at home will test its ability to scale up. Cracking ASEAN will test its global ambition. And making EVs profitable will test its execution discipline.
The climb to third was about momentum. The climb to second will be about execution.
The chatter-bots speaking up for India
SOUNDS OF DIVERSITY. Voice AI startups are building agentic solutions that can converse in a multitude of regional languages.
In India, the next wave of AI may largely be a chatty affair. As businesses race to replace call centres with intelligent voice agents, startups are building for a uniquely complex market, where scale, language, and latency (the delay between input and output) collide.
According to Tracxn data, Indian voice AI startups raised $160.58 million across 37 funding rounds between 2019 and 2026. Funding peaked in 2023 at $41.6 million across five rounds, while this year it has reached $30.2 million across three rounds so far.
SCALING INDIC LANGUAGES
Bengaluru-based Gnani.ai, co-founded in 2016 by Ganesh Gopalan and Ananth Nagaraj, processes over 30 million spoken interactions daily in over 12 languages. Serving more than 200 enterprises across BFSI, telecom, automotive, and government sectors, it is one of four ventures selected for a government mission for sovereign foundational AI development.
“Our agentic AI platform is designed to handle India-specific nuances like multilingual conversations and turn-taking,” says CEO Ganesh Gopalan. The company recently launched Inya VoiceOS, a voice-to-voice model that eliminates intermediate speech-to-text and text-to-speech layers. Its Vachana models offer human-like speech and zero-shot voice cloning in 12 Indic languages. Gnani.ai, which recently secured $10 million in Series B investment, reports that its recurring revenue is growing 2–3x annually.
DOWN TO DIALECTS
India has over 700 dialects, yet most global AI models work well only for English and Hindi. Navana.ai addresses this gap by building models from scratch and collecting proprietary data nationwide.
“We don’t just deliver voice agents but also build the underlying models that power them,” says Raoul Nanavati, co-founder and CEO. Navana.ai collaborated with IISc, Bangalore, on RESPIN, one of India’s largest open-source speech datasets, producing over 10,000 hours of audio across nine languages and 38 dialects. The company currently deploys voice agents across 22 languages and is looking at similar non-English sovereign markets in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
VOICE-FIRST CULTURE
“India is voice-first culturally. But for the last decade, digital India has been forced to click, type, and tap,” explains Sneha Roy, co-founder and COO at Murf.AI. Founded by IIT-Kharagpur alumni, Murf.AI focuses on India’s linguistic diversity and the engineering problem of "code-switching" (switching between languages mid-conversation).
Murf.AI offers two core models: Falcon, a real-time TTS engine supporting 35-plus languages, and Speech Gen 2 for content creation. Their models are built on ethically sourced speech, with voice actors earning royalties for their recordings. The company has grown 13x in four years, with an ARR of ₹85–90 crore, and has scaled to over 195 countries with 10 million users.
THE PATH TO MATURITY
Himani Agrawal, COO of Microsoft India and South Asia, observes a trend where organisations are choosing to build in-house AI systems for regulated environments and sensitive data. “As AI moves into mission-critical use, it must be governed, observable, and tightly integrated with existing frameworks,” she notes.
The opportunity remains vast. “India is a voice-first country. Talking is just more natural here than typing or texting,” says Vardhan Dharnidharka of Stellaris Venture Partners. He points out that the staggering quantum of B2B business conducted over the phone—from insurance sales to FMCG distribution—is still largely unscaled and manual.
Oil-starved industry looks to reignite heat pumps
How clusters producing similar goods are well suited to tap steam energy viably, backed by solar power
The two-week truce between the US and Iran, along with the promise to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, seemingly offered a measure of relief. Yet, oil and gas supplies appear unlikely to return to pre-war levels anytime soon. In India, while the plight of households struggling to afford cooking gas has drawn attention, the distress in industry — especially micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) — has gone largely under-reported. Many units have been forced to cut production by half or more.
A SHIFTING EQUATION
While India has a long-term commitment to clean energy, the West Asia conflict has underscored the urgency of interim solutions, particularly in MSME clusters. Heat pumps are based on well-established technology but have historically seen limited adoption in industry due to higher costs compared to oil or gas.
That equation is now shifting. Concerns over fuel availability and price volatility are making heat pumps increasingly competitive, especially when deployed at the scale of industrial clusters. Industrial heat requirements vary widely depending on the product, process, and scale, ruling out a one-size-fits-all solution. However, experts from industry bodies, venture capital groups, and philanthropies suggest that heat pumps are well-suited for clusters producing similar goods — such as glass units in Firozabad or leather units.
ENABLING CONDITIONS
Three enabling conditions have been identified for scaling up heat pumps.
- Financing: While capital availability is not seen as a major constraint — thanks in part to philanthropic guarantees that can de-risk investments — there is a need for viable models. One proposed approach is “heat-as-a-service”.
- Power source: If the grid remains fossil fuel-heavy, the benefits are limited. To address this, solar power can generate ample electricity for heat pumps during the day, with the grid acting as backup.
- Regulatory framework: While industry acknowledges the push towards electrification, it seeks greater clarity and stability. Tariff structures, open access to power, and alignment of incentives between fossil fuels and clean energy will be critical. A white paper outlining these issues is expected to be submitted to policymakers.
GRID READINESS
The third factor is grid readiness. Although capacity may appear adequate at a macro level, plant-level constraints and connection readiness could pose challenges. This calls for closer coordination with power system planning.
The immediate opportunity lies in identifying priority sectors and clusters, supporting early deployments, and building credible pathways to scale. These efforts must also align with a broader national roadmap for clean industrial heating.
INVESTMENT FACTORS
Rising oil prices have pushed owners to consider alternatives, as heat pumps provide low-cost energy. However, investment decisions will hinge on three factors:
- Lifecycle cost-competitiveness rather than just upfront investment.
- Reliability and compatibility with continuous industrial processes.
- Proven performance.
Pilot projects play a crucial role, and MSME operators stress the importance of minimal disruption to ongoing operations. The immediate focus remains on scaling up heat pump adoption.
FOCUS ON INDIA’S INTERESTS, NOT PAKISTAN’S MOVES
By Shashi Shekhar
The inevitable finally happened, bursting the bubble of the Islamabad talks. What more could have been expected from an arrogant US President’s painful diatribes, a resilient Iran successfully resisting a superpower, the absence of Israel, the interference of Gulf nations, and a spineless host’s faux hospitality? Now, prepare for an inevitable rough ride.
I pity US Vice President J.D. Vance, who wanted to stop the war but will now be forced to take a hard line. Iran was secretly supported by China and Russia, but now they too will have to come out in the open. Energy supply for countries such as India, Japan, and South Korea is in danger, and the global economy is heading for tough times.
Some of my Indian friends are unhappy that Islamabad is playing the role of a “mediator,” unaware that Pakistan is doing exactly what it was created for. Pakistan is a recent idea, floated by a student, Chaudhary Rehmat Ali, in Cambridge in 1933. Later, the poet Allama Iqbal gave it emotional support and Mohammad Ali Jinnah added political weight. It is said the British encouraged Jinnah to realize the dream of Pakistan.
Ishtiaq Ahmed, a Pakistan-born professor in Sweden, wrote in his book Pakistan: A Garrison State that the British wanted to control India for some more time, but their grip was loosening quickly. On 8 May 1947, then British Prime Minister Clement Richard Attlee met former generals and diplomats who advocated that India was naturally inclined toward socialism. They believed that if the British didn’t create Pakistan, Soviet Union influence would be felt in the Indian Ocean within a few years. The meeting was decisive, and Lord Mountbatten announced on 3 June 1947 that Pakistan would be created by partitioning India. Thus, Pakistan became a Western ally even before its creation. The same logic made it a garrison state; even today, Islamabad’s political class dances to the tune of GHQ in Rawalpindi.
In contrast, India pursued a policy of non-alignment and has stuck to it until now. During the journey, we were sometimes seen as taking sides. During the 1965 war, the US and China openly sided with Pakistan, while the Soviet Union stood with us and initiated peace talks in Tashkent. Similarly, in 1971, when the US sent its seventh fleet to the Bay of Bengal, the Soviet Union came to our help, yet we did not become part of the Soviet camp.
As a result, India continued to receive aid from the West, and the Green Revolution was made possible with support from US institutions. While New Delhi maintained its non-aligned edge, Pakistan remained a Western ally and even brought the US and China closer when Henry Kissinger flew from Pakistan on his secret mission to China. Pakistan supported US military operations in Afghanistan—a nation created in the name of Islam acting treacherously against another Islamic nation.
We shouldn’t be surprised if ceasefire talks between Iran and the US are held in Islamabad. Everyone knows Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif or Field Marshal Asim Munir are not the facilitators. China pressured Iran while Trump, eager to end a useless war, lapped up the opportunity. Both parties needed to talk where they could arm-twist a pliable host. Pakistan was the obvious choice, making it a medium, not a mediator. Doubters should look at Sharif’s post on X, which initially began with "Draft: Pakistan message on X," suggesting the text was sent by someone else and released without editing.
Even the edited version raised questions about the original writer—was it from Washington, Beijing, or Rawalpindi? They mentioned a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, yet Israel hasn’t ceased its military offensive, and Iran cannot abandon Hezbollah, dimming any chances of a deal. Despite all this, our doomsayers think Pakistan will use its hyperactivity to raise the Kashmir issue internationally. I would ask: when have they not done it? Since Independence, we have been countering their political and strategic moves and will continue to do so.
I would urge my friends to realize that the crisis is deepening. Instead of worrying about the world, they should focus more on securing our own national interests.
Shashi Shekhar is the editor-in-chief of Hindustan. Views are personal.
Nice countries come last
India has nothing to offer but love and fresh air, which too is scarce
By TCA Srinivasa Raghavan LINE & LENGTH
There has been a lot of angst in India that America chose Pakistan to ‘mediate’ between it and Iran. This disappointment comes after the Modi government, for the last few years, has been claiming how important India is in the world.
As always the truth is neither this nor that. It is something we don’t like to be told but India is, and always has been, quite irrelevant to the interactions between the big powers. And there is a reason for this.
We don’t spend our money in a way that would make us powerful, in any globally relevant way. In the last 25 years India has been spending around a quarter of its annual budgets on welfare. That’s a lot of money which yields a lot of social and political returns but not economic or military returns.
It is, if you like, a part of the price we pay for our genuinely competitive politics. It’s the money that is spent on notions of fairness in governance, an emphasis on equity, a hankering for social justice, insistence on political stability and, above all, an innate sense of decency that humans have. Some of this money also goes to purchase votes.
What’s the cost to the national power of this expenditure? Apart from high taxation, it is that much less money for military and economic muscle. Imagine if that money had been spent on weapons and subsidies to private industries à la China.
MUCH LIKE EUROPE
In a very real sense therefore we are like Europe subsidising people rather than capital. We are willing to pay the price for social equity in terms of foregone machoness. And so like Western Europe, we don’t matter much in world affairs even though Europe’s GDP is more than four times ours at $22 trillion. And don’t forget that Western Europe got here after 500 years of greed.
In sum, we don’t have the money. we don’t have the muscle. We don’t have enough tradeable energy or raw materials. We don’t have enough industrial output that feeds into global supply chains. What we have are lots of people whom no one wants.
India also doesn’t really constitute a very large market, 100-120 million at best, though the actual number is perhaps 30 per cent less. In other words, economically we are small. We are the nice guys who come last.
From a different perspective, global GDP in 2025 was around $115 trillion. The US GDP was $30 trillion, EU around $22 trillion and Chinese around $20 trillion. India wasn’t even $5 trillion. Is it any wonder that we don’t count for anything?
You may well ask why. Well, it’s a choice we made in 1950 when we adopted a soft state approach of governance. As countless others have pointed out in the last 75 years it is the only way of keeping a vast and diverse country as a unified constitutional entity.
This is not to say that we aren’t a great country. We are, but in ways that don’t matter in world affairs which are almost entirely tuned to the needs of capital. Marxists call it imperialism.
Whereas the others are fully focused, we almost wholly aren’t. When we do focus it’s on local politics.
The absence of enough capital to make its pursuit and protection an absolute goal and the absence of a non-divisive political goal merely makes us what Ravi Shastri called bits and pieces players. That is, dispensable and replaceable.
Or if you want to be polite, we are a middle power. Neither here, nor there. Pakistan which raises so many hackles here is not in this situation. It’s a glow gopher and enjoys the advantages of that status.
Our 2,500-year-old cultural and religious history, a great liberal constitution, a genuine democracy, rule of law, regardless of what the nitpickers in Western media say, social peace, political stability, an excellent judiciary even if not a very good judicial system, a gentle people, etc., are very important to us — but no one else. These are not the things the world wants from us.
So one must ask what the point is of pretending to be otherwise as the Modi government has been so strenuously doing, or, conversely, lamenting, as the Opposition has been doing, that no one really bothers about what we think or why the world has such a poor opinion of our ability to influence events.
We are what we are, a decent country by and large which is content to actually believe in vasudhaiva kutumbakam. It’s not a bad thing to be because the alternative is to be beastly to everyone.
When signals diverge: Reading the Nifty-Gold ratio
By Harsimran Sandhu and Prateek Gupta
Gold has surged over 55 per cent in a year. Equities have corrected roughly 8 per cent from their highs. Oil has spiked above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022. The instinct is to ask which signal is right. That may be the wrong question; the more useful exercise is to read them as layers of the same story.
The US-Israel strikes on Iran on February 28, 2026, and Iran’s retaliatory closure of the Strait of Hormuz—through which roughly 20 per cent of global seaborne oil transits—have sent WTI crude from pre-war levels of $64 to $90-100, with a 52-week high of $119.48. These levels directly feed inflation, with petrol rising above ₹103/litre and LPG at ₹912, and compress corporate margins.
Gold has responded with a generational move. Over the past 12 months, gold has surged from ₹90,000-95,000 to ₹1,55,390 per 10 grams, representing a 55-65 per cent appreciation in a single year. International spot gold has breached $4,700 per ounce. This is not mere speculation; gold at these levels is pricing in an active military conflict, record central bank accumulation, and institutional hedging against tail risks that are no longer hypothetical.
Equities tell a different story. The Nifty 50 has corrected from its January 2026 all-time high of 26,370 to approximately 23,997.35, delivering a roughly flat return year-on-year. However, valuations have compressed to a trailing PE of 20x, near the post-2021 consolidated-earnings average of 22-23x, indicating there is no exuberance in the market.
THE GOLD-NIFTY RATIO
A useful way to reconcile these signals is through the Gold-Nifty Ratio (GNR), obtained by dividing the price of 10 grams of gold by the Nifty level. At current levels (₹1,55,390/23,997.35), the ratio stands near 6.47, which is close to the upper extreme of its historical range.
Since the Nifty’s inception in 1996, the ratio has ranged from 1.8 in 2007 (equity euphoria, gold ignored) to elevated levels during periods of economic stress. Over this three-decade horizon, both asset classes have compounded powerfully:
- The Nifty has returned 22-23x on price alone from its 1995 base, but when dividends are reinvested, its total return rises to 30-35x.
- Gold has returned approximately 29-32x at current elevated prices.
The key point is that the ratio between them oscillates rather than trends, and current levels sit near the top of that range. The Nifty-Gold ratio behaves as a mean-reverting series over multi-year horizons. Extremes reflect relative movements that have already occurred, rather than stable equilibria. Because its volatility tracks equity movements more closely than gold, sharp drawdowns, like the 14 per cent correction in Q1 2026, amplify the ratio disproportionately, making it an active barometer of relative stress.
WHEN EXTREMES MATTER
While the ratio is not a forecasting tool, historical patterns suggest that extreme levels carry informational value. Historically, when the Gold-Nifty ratio rises above 5.5, it has often coincided with periods of heightened macro stress where gold has significantly outperformed equities in the preceding phase. This has been followed, in several instances, by a reversal in relative performance. Conversely, lower ratio regimes (below 3.5) have exhibited less consistent outcomes.
Oil signals an active energy crisis, gold signals the highest level of geopolitical stress in decades, and equities signal a domestic economy that has absorbed the shock without breaking. The ratio captures the full distance between fear and fundamentals. The temptation is to interpret an extreme ratio as a prediction—that gold must fall or equities must rally.
TIMING AND DIRECTION
The data does not support such certainty. Extreme ratios have historically been followed by adjustment, but the timing and direction depend on variables no model can forecast: whether Iran ceasefire talks succeed, when Hormuz reopens, and how deeply the energy shock feeds into global growth.
This framework does not tell you what to buy or sell. It offers a structured way to interpret where markets stand right now without the false comfort of a forecast. The ratio of 6.47 simply records the distance between narratives of energy crisis, geopolitical stress, and domestic resilience. Understanding that distance is the real utility of the Gold–Nifty ratio.
Sandhu is Professor of Finance, and Gupta is Executive MBA student, at IMT Ghaziabad.
Can non-salaried professionals declare 50% income as profit under presumptive tax?
MINT MONEY | ASK MINT | TAXATION
Question: I earn income through a contractual job, and the firm has suggested I opt for Section 44ADA and declare 50% of my income as profits. However, I read that under this section, one is required to declare either 50% or a higher amount if one’s actual profits exceed that. If I declare 50% of my income without detailed expense records, could this trigger scrutiny or raise compliance concerns? — Name withheld on request
Answer by Archit Gupta: Under Section 44ADA of the Income Tax Act, 1961, an assessee opting for presumptive taxation is not required to maintain books of account, provided income is declared at 50% or more of gross receipts from the specified profession. This relaxation is a key feature of the presumptive taxation scheme, designed to simplify compliance for small professionals. Declaring exactly 50% of your gross receipts as profit is a common practice among taxpayers opting for this scheme and, in itself, should not trigger scrutiny or raise compliance concerns.
If you declare income below 50% of gross receipts under Section 44ADA, you should maintain prescribed books of account as per Section 44AA of the I-T Act. These include a cash book, journal, ledger, copies of bills issued (for transactions exceeding ₹250), and original bills for expenses, so that your lower profit margin can be substantiated if questioned. In addition, in such cases, your income will also be subject to a tax audit if your total income crosses the basic exemption limit applicable to you for that financial year.
This requirement for a tax audit results in higher compliance obligations, including certification by a chartered accountant and the submission of an audit report along with detailed financial information. Such additional steps can increase both the time and cost of tax compliance.
However, simply opting for the 50% profit approach may lead to a higher tax outgo if your actual income after expenses is significantly lower than the presumptive rate prescribed under the scheme. Therefore, it is important to carefully evaluate both approaches in light of your income pattern, expense levels, and long-term tax planning objectives before making a decision.
To be sure, the aforementioned provisions hold good for the income earned during FY 2025–26 (AY 2026–27) under the existing framework of the Income Tax Act, 1961. For income earned from 1 April 2026 onwards (FY 2026–27), the provisions of Section 58 of the Income Tax Act, 2025, will apply once the new law becomes operational. Taxpayers should therefore stay updated on any changes in the rules that may affect presumptive taxation.
Archit Gupta is the founder and CEO of ClearTax.
How Lionel Messi became Miami’s billion-dollar economic engine
By Arian Campo-Flores
MIAMI — Nearly three years after arriving to play for this city’s Major League Soccer club, Lionel Messi has delivered on the field, leading Inter Miami to its first league championship last year and making it the MLS’s most valuable team.
Yet his impact reaches far beyond the pitch: He has been a one-man economic stimulus engine for the Miami area, boosting its international profile, drawing hordes of tourists and powering sectors including real estate, hospitality and retail.
THE STADIUM CATALYST
The latest example of Messi’s economic pull: last week’s inauguration of the club’s new stadium, which Inter Miami raced to complete after his arrival. The 26,700-seat Nu Stadium, near Miami International Airport, is the centerpiece of the $1 billion, 131-acre Miami Freedom Park project that will eventually include more than one million square feet of retail, entertainment venues and office and hotel space.
While putting a precise dollar figure on his impact is tricky due to a simultaneous influx of wealthy newcomers, local observers calculate it in the billions of dollars, pointing to effects far beyond the stadium development.
A RECORD-BREAKING CONTRACT
Messi, considered by many the greatest soccer player of all time, signed with Inter Miami in July 2023. His contract, running through 2025, is worth an estimated $50 million to $60 million annually in salary and bonuses. However, the total value is significantly higher as it includes an equity stake in the club upon retirement. Last year, he signed an extension through the 2028 season.
The investment has proven justified. His presence fills stadiums both in Miami and in away cities; for instance, a March game against D.C. United in Baltimore drew over 72,000 fans, setting an attendance record for that team.
CEMENTING A SOCCER HUB
Messi has bolstered Miami’s standing as the premier U.S. soccer hub.
- FIFA opened a new legal-and-compliance division in Miami in 2024 and moved its commercial operations there from New York in 2023.
- The Argentine Football Association (AFA) is unveiling a new office and training complex in the area this year to promote its brand. Leandro Petersen, AFA’s chief commercial officer, noted that Messi’s signing hastened these plans.
REAL ESTATE AND TOURISM BOOM
The "Messi effect" has been a boon for South Florida real estate. Messi’s own purchases—a $10.8 million waterfront mansion in Fort Lauderdale and a unit at Cipriani Residences Miami—have stimulated intense interest in those areas. Agents now routinely feature Messi and the upcoming World Cup in promotional materials to attract international buyers, who are often die-hard fans.
Tourism has also surged. Miami-Dade County’s hotel occupancy rate hit 74% last year, the fourth-highest in the U.S.. Beyond local games, Miami is hosting major international events:
- The 2024 Copa América final (won by Argentina).
- Eight matches for the FIFA Club World Cup.
- Seven matches for the FIFA World Cup this summer.
These events, combined with the Formula One Miami Grand Prix and the Miami Open, generate billions in activity. "With Messi, we really pivoted to an international fan and client," said Suzanne Amaducci of Bilzin Sumberg.
VALUATION AND LOCAL BUSINESS
Inter Miami’s valuation has skyrocketed to an estimated $1.45 billion in 2026—the highest in the MLS—up from $585 million in 2022. Revenue reached approximately $200 million last year.
Local businesses are thriving on the buzz. At Grails Miami, a sports bar in Wynwood, watch parties for Inter Miami games fill the 400-capacity venue. The bar offers a "Messi Mule" cocktail and doubles its staff on match days to handle the demand. Vacation rental demand has also spiked, with stronger pricing and a "new type of traveler entering the market almost overnight".
New labour codes may raise film, OTT production costs
Firms to see 15-20% cost surge as the codes give formal protection to gig, freelance workers
By Lata Jha
NEW DELHI — Film and OTT production companies are bracing for a likely rise in crew costs and overall production budgets as the new labour codes aim to bring gig and freelance workers under formal protections.
Stricter regulation of working hours and the requirement for overtime pay could materially raise per-day crew costs, particularly in film production, where shoots often run 12 to 16 hours, experts said. These expenses come at a time when studios are struggling to curb budgets amid the unpredictable, largely volatile box office and cautious commissioning by streaming platforms.
Foreseeable Cost Increases
While the actual increase could vary depending on the scale and size of projects, industry experts estimate a 15-20% rise in costs for production houses. For media and entertainment businesses, given long shoot schedules, irregular working hours, and heavy reliance on project-based crew, cost increases are quite foreseeable.
“The new labour codes are likely to introduce a more structured and compliance-driven framework for a historically flexible, project-based industry," said Pranav Bhaskar, senior partner, SKV Law Offices.
"Expanded definition of worker brings contract and gig-based talent within regulatory net, which is a material shift for production houses that rely heavily on short-term engagements. At the same time, working hour limits and mandatory overtime create both compliance exposure and immediate cost implications, especially for formats where extended shoot days or night shoots are the norm,” Bhaskar said. Large film productions, OTT originals and high-intensity formats like live events could see the most impact, he added.
Administrative and Benefit Burdens
Rajat Agrawal, chief operating officer at Ultra Media and Entertainment Group, said the change may affect several areas of production. For instance, capping allowances at 50% of total remuneration could bump up provident fund and gratuity contributions. Working on a tight deadline that needs extended shoots, overtime pay at twice the ordinary wage rate might just push up production costs.
“Plus, social security benefits for gig workers and contractors could add a significant chunk to the production house's expenses. You'll also need to factor in restrictions on working hours, which might throw off the scheduling and location planning, and potentially increase logistics costs,” Agrawal said.
The Shift to Formalisation
Then come additional administrative costs for compliance, such as HR and payroll updates. “So, if the 8-12 hour rule is enforced in a way that causes significant wage changes, it can definitely have an impact,” said Ujjwal Mahajan, co-founder of Chaupal.
New labour codes are reshaping a media and entertainment sector that is built on flexible, project-based work, said Hardeep Sachdeva, senior partner, AZB & Partners. “Biggest challenge is in transitioning from an informal, contract-heavy ecosystem to a formalised employment framework. This would come with mandatory appointment letters, defined wage structures, regulated working hours, and expanded social security obligations,” he noted.
LABOUR CODE IMPACT
- LIMIT on working hours may disrupt shoot schedules, increasing logistics and location costs.
- OVERTIME wages at twice the ordinary rates could inflate budgets for projects with tight timelines.
- CAP in allowances at 50% of total wages may raise gratuity and PF contributions for production firms.
- SOCIAL security benefits for contract and gig workers to add another layer of costs for producers.
