MAM
Mukesh Ambani appoints Ira Bindra as group president, people & talent
MUMBAI: In the vast ocean of corporate titans, even the youngest sharks have the power to disrupt the tides.
Such is the case at Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), where Mukesh Ambani, the captain of India’s largest private sector ship, has made a bold and transformative move. Ira Bindra, a seasoned global HR leader, has been appointed as group president, people & talent—a decision brimming with promise and significance. With this strategic appointment, Ambani signals a renewed focus on people, culture, and leadership in a company that shapes global narratives. It’s a moment of overwhelming excitement, as Bindra steps into a role that could redefine the future of one of the world’s most influential conglomerates.
This appointment is a rare instance where Ambani himself announced a senior leadership hire, reflecting its strategic importance.
Bindra, a 47-year-old HR leader with over two decades of global experience, will oversee talent development, leadership initiatives, and cultural transformation across the organisation. She is the first non-family woman and the youngest professional to join RIL’s Executive Committee.
“Ira Bindra joins us from Medtronic, USA, where she was head of human resources and vice president – global regions,” Ambani stated in an internal communication. “She will work with me, Isha, Akash, Anant, and the executive committee to drive transformation across our company for people, culture, and leadership.”
Bindra will collaborate with RIL’s business and HR leaders to elevate the company’s human resource practices to world-class standards. Her role includes fostering inclusive leadership and aligning HR strategies with RIL’s ambitious growth objectives.
An alumna of Delhi’s Lady Shri Ram College (1998) and Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands (1999), Bindra’s illustrious career spans leadership roles at GE Capital, GE India, GE Healthcare, GE Oil & Gas, and Medtronic. She has worked across diverse sectors, including med-tech, financial services, and global industrial enterprises, in regions such as India, the United States, Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
Ambani emphasised Bindra’s expertise, stating, “Her experience spans designing new operating models, creating business lines, and executing significant divestitures—contributing to improved performance and outcomes.”
Bindra has expressed enthusiasm for her new role, sharing in a LinkedIn post: “I look forward to this new and exciting chapter that will bring new learnings and leverage my prior experiences to propel the next chapter of growth and transformation for Reliance, in partnership with the leaders and teams at Reliance”
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
