 "(L) First Women's Cricket World Cup win; (R) Shubhanshu Shukla becomes first Indian to enter International Space Station")
No one sector stood out, and no one sentiment prevailed. From a win on the field and a battle on the ground to glory in space but troubles in the sky, 2025 was a blend of pride, payoffs, and patience. The annual “Hits & Misses” of the year survey by advertising agency Rediffusion — shared exclusively with Business Standard — showed that while emotional resonance emerged as the dominant driver, business and policy developments — such as the ban on real money gaming applications, and cuts in the goods and services tax (GST) — were not overlooked.
Like 2024, a World Cup win was India’s top moment this year as well. This time, those who bought sporting cheer were the Women in Blue, who lifted their maiden ICC trophy.
In another historic feat for India’s most-loved sport, Virat Kohli’s RCB won their maiden IPL title. As the legend shed tears of joy, the moment — which features at No 9 on the Rediffusion list — stayed with the fans. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity, meanwhile, remained unaltered, more so as he turned 75 and retained the N0 2 spot. Third on the hits list was Operation Sindoor, India’s retaliation against the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives.
At No four were India’s space dreams, which took off with Shubhanshu Shukla’s odyssey to the International Space Station, with visuals of his outreach programmes, experiments, and gajar ka halwa for fellow space travellers keeping the country tuned in.
Divinity, too, found a place on the list, with Modi’s inauguration of the towering Ram statue in Goa occupying the fifth position. At No 8 was the event marking the completion of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
The lone political event that featured among top 10 – at No 6 – was Nitish Kumar returning as Bihar chief minister for the 10th time.
If cricket led the list, could cinema be far behind? The seventh spot went to Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji, both of whom won their first National Awards. Joining the debut winners’ list was Vikrant Massey.
“It was not the scale of the events, but the clarity of emotions they delivered,” wrote Rediffusion Chairman Sandeep Goyal in the report. “While the hits gave a sense of pride and relief, the misses exposed systematic stress points, which were not overlooked.”
The biggest miss, at No 10, was Dharmendra, the cinematic legend whose death at 89 was deeply mourned.
The list slipped back into the hits category at No 11. The position went to Saiyaara, a Bollywood blockbuster that brought audiences back to cinema halls, and grossed Rs 579 crore.
“Audiences are no longer chasing validation,” said Carol Goyal, executive director, Rediffusion. “They are embracing stories that feel authentic, culturally grounded, and emotionally honest.”
Beyond the emotionally and culturally engrossing moments, the list also included business and policy developments such as GST rate cuts; US President Donald Trump’s tariffs; H1B visa restrictions; and the IPO frenzy (with LG, Meesho, Urban Company, and Tata Capital all going public).
It was a year that tested India’s aviation sector, and the report takes cognisance of this. The Air India crash at Ahmedabad that killed 260 is listed at No 13, and the crisis at IndiGo comes at position 18.
A comedian’s missed joke (the Samay Raina controversy on India’s Got Latent), at No 19, and a brand’s global misstep (the Prada-Kolhapuri episode), at No 20, once again established that the digital age spares no one.
Rediffusion’s survey, by Red Labs, was based on a multi-stage methodology. It began with over 300 stories shortlisted by a panel of experts from diverse fields. It was then validated through a nationwide poll of 2,267 respondents aged 18-45 to gauge what truly moved the needle for the country in 2025.
The top 20 list that finally emerged was about India’s story of originality, perseverance, and comeback.
