Finnish telecommunications giant Nokia is India's most trusted brand

Mobile handset company Nokia has emerged as the most trusted brand followed by the Tata Group, while Anna Hazare pips Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar and Shahrukh Khan, according to The Brand Trust Report, India Study 2012.

According to the report compiled by Brand Trust Advisory, among the brands to make it to the top of the list are Nokia and Tata at the first and second positions.

Japanese electronics leader Sony slipped to the fifth position this year, outranked by the two aggressive Korean chaebols, LG at third position and Samsung at fourth.

While Nokia was at the top slot in mobile handsets, it was followed by BlackBerry.

Maruti Suzuki improved its position to the sixth while Reliance Industries slipped to the tenth in the Most Trusted Brand this year.

"The report measures 61 tangible and intangible aspects of brand trust, which combine to encompass all positive behaviours and attitudes toward a brand," N. Chandramouli, chief executive officer (CEO), Trust Research Advisory, said.

Apart from that the report has also ranked companies according to their categories.

For example, India's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki is the most trusted automotive brand in India. It is followed by BMW, Hero Honda, Toyota and Honda.

Interestingly, Hyundai Motor India Ltd and Tata Motors - the second and third biggest car makers in India - did not make it to the top ten list.

While Maruti Suzuki's Dzire has been rated the most trusted car, BMW has been rated the most trusted luxury car brand and Hero Honda (now Hero Moto-Corp) emerged as the most trusted two-wheeler brand.

And in the branded fashion segment, Armani stole the show with the number one rating, followed by Gucci and Diesel.

In food and beverages, Pepsi, Cadbury's and Parle are rated number one, two and three, respectively. Dabur has been rated the most trusted brand in healthcare business followed by Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and Himalaya.

Realty major DLF was ranked as the most trusted brand in construction, NIIT in education, ONGC in energy, PVR in entertainment, Pepsi in F&B, Dabur in healthcare, Taj Hotels in hospitality, Google in Internet, ACC in manufacturing, Thomas Cook in services, Being Human in the social sector and Air India in airlines.

Among 22 personalities listed in the BTR 2012, Anna Hazare has surged, gaining the nation's trust ahead of Sachin Tendulkar, Salman Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan who feature in that order.

The report notes that Tata group chairman Ratan Tata is ranked the top business personality, followed by Vijay Mallya, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, car stylist Dilip Chabbria and Reliance Group chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani.

The survey, which was conducted between August and November last year, took into account responses and views on 17,000 brands from over 2,700 participants across 15 cities in the country and has featured top 1,000 brands across several categories.