India's PR Industry Hits $361 Million, Survey Finds
India's PR industry reached ₹3,230 crore, about $361 million, in the financial year ended March 2026, up 11% from ₹2,910 crore a year earlier. That is the estimate in the PRCAI SPRINT 2026 survey, run by Ipsos for the Public Relations Consultants Association of India (PRCAI). India holds 12.6% of Asia-Pacific PR revenue, and PRCAI projects ₹4,500 crore, about $500 million, by FY2030.
Anyone budgeting for India from older figures is working with a smaller market and an outdated list of buyers. SPRINT 2026 is the third edition of the study. It surveyed 143 consultancy heads, corporate communicators and senior practitioners. Fiscal years run April to March, so FY2026 means April 2025 to March 2026. One crore equals 10 million rupees, and the report converts at ₹90 to the dollar, the rate this article uses.
How fast is the Indian PR market growing?
Indian PR revenue grew from ₹940 crore in FY2015 to ₹2,910 crore in FY2025, a 12% compound annual rate, and PRCAI estimates ₹3,230 crore for FY2026.
Fiscal year
Revenue (₹ crore)
Approx. USD
FY2015
940
$100 million
FY2020
1,770
$200 million
FY2025
2,910
$320 million
FY2026 (estimate)
3,230
$360 million
FY2027 (projection)
3,500
$390 million
FY2030 (projection)
4,500
$500 million
PRCAI reads the slowdown from a 12% decade average to 11% growth in FY2026 as a sign of a maturing market. Its projection implies growth of between 8% and 9% a year through FY2030. The dollar column is an EPR conversion at ₹90 per dollar, rounded to the nearest $10 million.
Who is buying PR in India in 2026?
Private corporates still lead the top client categories at 42%, but start-ups reached 22% and government reached 11% in 2026, according to PRCAI's survey of consultancy heads.
Client group
Share in 2022
Share in 2026
Private corporates
48%
42%
Start-ups and unicorns
6%
22%
Government
4%
11%
Start-ups nearly quadrupled their share and government nearly tripled its share. Start-ups, education and ed-tech, government and FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) were the strongest sector gainers, per the Ipsos release. The shares reflect opinions of consultancy heads and do not sum to 100% because only top categories are shown. For the government side of the market, see EPR's profile of Indian government communications.
Do Indian communicators treat PR as a business driver?
Corporate communicators in the survey credit PR with building investor confidence (96%), customer loyalty (96%), stakeholder relations (92%), crisis resilience (83%) and long-term revenue (75%).
Of the communicators surveyed, 46% say PR plays a direct role in driving business outcomes, and more than 40% report that CEOs seek outside strategic counsel from their communications advisors. PR's share of marketing budgets rose from 12% in FY2025 to 14% in FY2026, and 53% say PR is taking share from advertising and digital agencies.
How are Indian PR firms using AI?
Research and intelligence gathering leads AI use in Indian PR at 77%, followed by written content creation at 73% and note-taking and meeting summaries at 66%.
AI spending rose from 2% of revenue three years ago to 7% in 2026, and PRCAI projects 10% within three years. Mid-sized firms put training first (90%), emerging firms favor AI creative tools (78%), and giant and large firms favor data analytics (68%).
The risks are measurable too. Fake-news incidents reported by corporate communicators rose from 28% in 2024-25 to 46% in 2025-26. Of all respondents, 80% flag AI-generated misinformation and deepfakes as a top reputational risk, and 85% expect AI governance frameworks to become mandatory.
Does generative engine optimization belong in an Indian PR plan?
The survey says yes: 83% of respondents agree earned media is gaining importance because large language models (LLMs) favor credible third-party sources over paid placements, and 70% say generative engine optimization (GEO) is becoming a distinct PR strategy.
Measurement lags the belief. Only 27% of respondents track discoverability in AI and LLM search, while 84% track share of voice. Among corporate communicators, 92% want a standard measurement system, but 46% allocate a separate budget for measurement.
EPR's own data shows what the gap looks like. The Indian Brand AI Visibility Index 2026 measured 25 Indian brands across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews and ranked Tata Group first. A separate EPR test, The Crore Problem, found AI engines get Indian box-office math wrong in roughly one-third of responses, including crore-to-million confusion.
How big are regional and influencer PR in India?
Regional PR rose from 10% to 19% of Indian PR revenue in three years, and influencer marketing doubled from 8% to 16%.
PRCAI projects regional PR at 25% and influencer marketing at 22% within three years. Of corporate communicators, 65% name Tier-2 cities as the main growth engine, and 98% of respondents want more verification and regulation of influencer content. Another 66% say positioning paid content as earned content weakens audience trust.
How is the Indian PR industry structured?
Twelve firms, four giant and eight large, hold about 70% of Indian PR revenue, per the report, while 145 emerging firms and more than 500 micro firms form the base.
The SPRINT 2026 figures are survey estimates, so read them as industry sizing and sentiment, not audited revenue.
The study drew on 143 respondents, FY2026 numbers are estimates, and most percentages are shares of respondents who agree or strongly agree. Global and Asia-Pacific market sizes come from Provoke Media data and Ipsos analysis, per the SPRINT 2026 full report. PRCAI is a trade body, so its earned-media and GEO findings reflect an industry view. The dollar conversions in this article are EPR's, at ₹90 per dollar.
What should a brand do with the SPRINT 2026 numbers?
Budget from the FY2026 base, state every India figure in rupees and dollars, fund regional and Tier-2 work, and measure AI discoverability.
Decision
Why it works
First step
Budget from the FY2026 base
PRCAI puts the market at ₹3,230 crore and projects growth of 8% to 9% a year, below the 12% decade average (SPRINT 2026, July 2026).
Reset India budget models to the FY2026 figure.
Write every India figure in rupees and dollars
EPR's The Crore Problem study (June 2026) found AI engines mishandle crore-to-million conversion, so a page that states both units hands the engine the conversion.
Write "₹X crore (about $Y million at ₹90)" on every India page.
Fund regional and Tier-2 work
Regional PR is 19% of industry revenue, and 65% of corporate communicators name Tier-2 cities as the main growth engine (SPRINT 2026, July 2026).
Add one Tier-2 market and one regional-language outlet list to the next plan.
Measure AI discoverability
Only 27% of respondents track it, while 83% say earned media matters more because LLMs favor third-party sources (SPRINT 2026, July 2026).
Ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity the five questions buyers ask about the brand's India business and log which sources each cites.
Teams that want an outside audit of how those engines describe an India business can start with 5W's GEO optimization practice, which runs AI search programs for brands.
Published October 10, 2026. Source data: PRCAI SPRINT 2026, released July 2026.
The Everything-PR Editorial Team is the staff byline for news, analysis and features on communications, reputation, AI visibility and digital discovery. Everything-PR has published since 2009. AI tools assist with research and drafting, and every article is reviewed by a human editor before publication. Coverage follows the Editorial Policy, and substantive corrections are noted on the article under the Corrections Policy.
