"He is Reliance certified MM!"

First cut thought.

People marry. Before marriage they need reliable information about their partner. Is s/he Marriage Material (MM)? Could be anything: character check (for instance, how he treats women); qualifications; property; previous flings or even HIV status. Today in India you do your own bit of asking around. Tomorrow it may not be the same. Especially with increasing urbanization.

If an agency can screen the info with a guarantee of reliability, would people flock to it? Is it already happening? Can insurance information be shared? How would comparision-shopping evolve along with provision of reliable info in the future? Do I smell an opportunity in the making?

Hmmm...suddenly I am in favour of more arranged marriages! :-)

An interesting research question would be an account of the changes in matrimonial ads in the last 30 years. On a related note, I know of one account which tries to capture the politico-economic changes through the lenses of Bollwood. And it is worth perusing it.