Leading Indian brands 2023, by strength index

Taj Hotels, emerged as India's strongest brand in 2023 with a brand strength index of 89.4 points out of 100. Having been replaced by the luxury hotel chain, Jio dropped to fourth place with a strength index of 87.6, while Amul moved up to become the second strongest brand that year. The brand strength index, also known as BSI, is calculated using a scorecard of metrics assessing the company's marketing investment, stakeholder equity and overall business performance.

Impact of COVID-19 on the hospitality sector 

The hospitality industry was one of the most affected sectors due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its lockdowns which highly restricted people’s mobility in 2020 and 2021. However, the rising coronavirus immunization and the subsequent fall in cases led to the revival of the hospitality industry in 2022. Indian hospitality brands implemented new strategies such as digitalization, strict hygiene measures to remain attractive in the COVID-19 era.  

Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility was legally mandated by India in April 2014 which made it compulsory for companies with a net profit of over 50 million Indian rupees to spend two percent of that on CSR activities. Indian conglomerates like Tata Group and Reliance Industries were the major contributors in the country. Notably, Indian Hotels Company Limited doubled its CSR spending from the previous year in financial year 2021 despite the company facing losses due to the pandemic.