There’s something special about January 1, isn’t it? It feels like a fresh start. There is optimism. New opportunities, new habits and new resolutions. But a lot of this optimism will fizzle out fast. Most New Year resolutions will crash by January 12, the designated Quitters Day. My suggestion: Just have one, solid resolution. Don’t load yourself up too much!
What would 2024 be like for India and the world? Just for fun, while acknowledging that life is unpredictable, here are 24 predictions for 2024.
Society
1. Better standard of living | India’s per capita incomes will rise another 7-8% this year, allowing citizens to live slightly better than before. Also, a slew of infrastructure projects — roads, highways, trains, airports will open to give Indians a better quality of life.
2. An early Diwali in January | It is fair to expect the Ram Temple inauguration to be one of the grandest events India has seen in recent times.
3. Travel on new highs | It boomed post the pandemic but high airline ticket prices slowed down the party a bit. In 2024, expect airlines to finally add enough capacity to their fleet, allowing ticket prices to fall. Which, of course, will mean even more travel.
4. Earth carrying on | Humanity does seem to be on a self-destructive path. We create endless pollution, clear out forests, make nuclear bombs and currently have two major wars going on in the world. Sometimes it all feels too dire, but we will somehow trudge along and make it through one more year. Long term, well, who knows?
Technology
5. Advancing AI | 2024 is the year when we will go beyond ChatGPT. Have an airline ticket issue? Maybe a non-human AI call centre will instantly pick up your call and solve your problem fast.
6. Reinvented jobs | India’s software industry will need to reinvent as AI takes over a lot of tasks. Else those software jobs that used to be there for all Indian engineering graduates, will just not be there. Many other industries will also require adaptation and change.
7. Prettier phones | 2024 is likely to see price drops in phone and computer hardware, which will mean faster, prettier and cheaper phones.
8. FaceID everywhere | We have logins, passwords, barcode scans, physical ID checks — all done for security. However, your face as an ID can replace all this. It does raise privacy concerns, but the convenience offered is just too strong. One day, your face will be your Aadhaar, PAN, driver’s licence, voter ID and maybe even your passport.
Politics
9. Miga Maga elections | 2024 is the year of the mother of all democratic elections in the world — first India, then the US. This simultaneity happens only once in two decades. Expect major excitement in India as we go to the polls in April/May and near global excitement for the US general election in November. For avid election watchers, this is more fun than the cricket World Cup!
10. BJP victory | While predicting actual election results is always difficult, given current trends and surveys it looks like BJP will return for a third term in 2024. That will be an incredible feat, even for the biggest democratic political party in the world today.
11. Polarisation prospers | Right wing vs left wing, North vs South, Android vs iOS, Hindu vs Muslim, Israel vs Palestine, people will pick a side and keep looking for evidence to support their confirmation bias all year round. This means no meaningful solutions will be found. But at least each side will be convinced they are absolutely right while the other side is completely wrong.
12. INDIA struggles | The Opposition alliance as well as Congress will keep searching for an existential narrative, which can coherently persuade voters to switch sides. This isn’t just about a better, punchier slogan. It requires a bigger overhaul. But 2024 will not be the year when the opposition will pull this off.
Finance
13. More EMIs | Indians will make more purchases such as gadgets, cars and handbags with ‘buy now, pay later’ schemes, EMIs and credit card loans. Stay away from debt if you can. Savings are sexy, not products bought with debt.
14. More stock market investments | Individual stock purchases, SIPs and mutual funds will also continue to see growth, because we have low penetration. Will the stock market also rise in 2024? That’s impossible to predict, but the long-term trend of any stock market is usually towards growth.
15. More inflation? | There are two major wars going on globally. If these escalate, oil prices will rise and supply chains around the world will get affected. This in turn will lead to higher inflation.
16. Pricier education/healthcare | Indians spare no expense when it comes to educating their kids. Ditto for medical costs when it is a matter of life and death. Hence, we stretch ourselves to get the best. With more higher quality offerings, be it in schools or hospitals, the expenses will only go up. Save well for your kid’s education and for medical emergencies.
Health
17. Saying no to desserts |
With internet content raising greater awareness, people will become more health conscious. India has extremely high numbers for diabetes and hypertension cases. Many of these can be reversed with healthier lifestyles. In 2024, expect more people to finish their steps and skip their desserts.
18. Yes to fads | Crazy diets, superfood obsessions and unscientific health fashions will continue. People want quick, easy fixes that sadly just don’t exist. No sauna or massage equipment can ‘burn’ your fat. Ghee cannot lubricate your joints. Mithai, even from an authentic old shop made with pure ingredients, is generally a bad idea for people who live sedentary lives.
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19. Calorie trackers | Expect more adoption of fitness watches, sleep trackers and food diary apps. Do they help? They can. They measure things. And what gets measured, gets managed. You have to do the exercise yourself though.
20. Anti-obesity drugs | Diet and exercise are a slow, hard road to fitness. The attraction of easier solutions means huge demand for drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic. Already a rage in the US, these are likely to be adopted big time by India too in 2024. Their long-term effects are not known. Be careful! Choose the cleaner path to health.
Relationships
21. Delaying kids | Rising real estate prices and school fees will make getting married and having kids more expensive. People are anyway taking longer to settle in their careers before getting married.
22. Re-evaluating virtual connections | Smartphones are little magic boxes, sucking all our attention and allowing us to connect with the world virtually. However, we all feel it — it’s not the real thing. Society misses real connections, life experiences and more fulfilling relationships. Go out there, meet people, make eye contact and talk to them face to face. It’s far more satisfying than being on the phone.
23. Love marriages | In India, we classify marriages as love or arranged, even though love marriages eventually need to be arranged and arranged marriages eventually need to have love. In 2024, as young Indians want to make more choices on their own, love marriages will continue to gain share.
24. LGBTQ+ acceptance | We do not have same-sex marriages yet. However, India has made rapid strides since reading down Section 377, in terms of society’s better acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community. We will do even better in 2024.
SOURCE:TOI
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