News Broadcasting
NDTV presents its first ever Unicorn start-up awards 2016
MUMBAI: The world of start-ups is bursting at the seams and India is becoming the start-up capital of the world. NDTV’s series Unicorn — Chasing the start-up dream has been leading the charge in discovering the next big idea from India’s belly which can be the next billion-dollar valued start-up.
Carrying forward this anticipation NDTV presents the first ever Unicorn Start-up Awards in association with Vestige and Indigo Nation to honour those who have astonished the market with simple ideas and some great execution. The awards will witness some of the biggest mentors and venture capitalists from the start up space in attendance, including Deep Kalra, Founder and CEO, MakeMyTrip, and Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder, Shopclues & Droom.
The awards will recognise the most credible dream-chasers who are going to change the way India does business with a stellar jury panel including R Chandrashekhar, President, NASSCOM, Suchi Mukherjee, Founder and CEO, Limeroad, and Raman Roy, a seasoned investor, to name a few.
Start-ups like Grofers, Oyo Rooms, Ola, FlipKart and Shopclues will compete for coveted titles. NDTV has tied up with NASSCOM 10,000 Startups, as knowledge partner for the awards, and with Tracxn, a start-up intelligence and market research platform, as research partner.
The exciting evening will be hosted by the glamorous Mandira Bedi, tech guru Rajiv Makhni and Vikram Chandra, Group CEO, NDTV.
Vikram Chandra, Group CEO, NDTV is all geared up for the first innings of these awards. “We have entered a new business era of start-ups, and it could transform India. NDTV too has expanded its wings in the e-commerce arena and we are growing rapidly. The Unicorn Start-Up Awards is our attempt to honour the unique ideas which have made a mark. From here on, we expect the awards to get bigger and better, and to be the benchmark for entrepreneur recognition.”
Rajiv Makhni, MD Technology, who is the brainchild behind these awards said, “From nascent ideas cooked up in a warehouse to booming ventures that are eating up market share and attracting consumers at breakneck speed, NDTV Unicorn Start-Up Awards will lift the iron curtain off them all. This is the highest form of recognition for those that have blazed a trail of their own. This is the start-ups’ moment to shine and occupy centre-stage on a prestigious platform like NDTV.”
The awards will be presented and the webcast will be live on ground on July 29th at the Taj Palace, New Delhi, 7 pm onwards.
• Bootstrapped start-up of the year – this category will award start-ups that are bootstrapped all the way and have made notable progress without external funding or support and own nothing outside of their start-up.
• New Kid on the Block– this category will award the start-up that has an exceptional idea and is now attempting to scale up into a business. It should be an original idea with the potential to disrupt the market.
• Dream-chaser of the year– this category will award the start-up that has a concrete plan and is now scaling up through funding.
• Woman Entrepreneur of the year– this category will recognise a start-up helmed by a woman entrepreneur which has disrupted the market.
• Health start-up of the year– this category includes health start-ups across wellness and fitness and more that have made an impact.
• Unicorn of the Year– this category will be awarded to the billion-dollar start-up, or Unicorns that has shown highest year-on-year growth in the financial year gone by.
• Start-up of the future– this category will award the start-up that has the ability to be the next big thing and has a fantastic idea at its core and is looking at establishing itself in a developing market.
• Global Start-up of the Year– this category will award an international start-up that has revolutionised its segment and has shown remarkable growth in the last financial year.
• Start-up mentor of the year– this category will recognise an investor, a big shark, an incubator, which has funded start-ups. This individual or venture capital firm will be awarded for great investment acumen and success rate.
• Good Samaritan of the year– this category will award start-ups that are making a social impact through their idea.
• People’s Start-up of the Year: this will be the only category thrown open to public voting through a microsite and will not be part of the jury’s decision-making process. This convenience start-up will be awarded for pleasing consumers through great service, marketing, and brand retention.
• Start-up Person of the Year– this category will award and recognise Indian personalities who have played an important role in shaping India’s start-up sector. He or she could be a government representative, a leading investor, a Unicorn founder.
• Brand Ambassador of the Year– this category will award the person who has upheld his/her responsibilities as a start- up brand ambassador and is a true start up evangelist!
News Broadcasting
Network18 Q4 revenue grows 9.7 per cent, EBITDA at Rs 30 crore
PAT improves to Rs 306.6 crore, margins steady amid cost pressures.
MUMBAI: Not all news is breaking, some of it is quietly improving. Network18 Media & Investments Limited appears to be doing just that, tightening losses and stabilising margins even as costs continue to weigh on the business. For FY26, the company reported revenue from operations of Rs 1,955.1 crore, up from Rs 1,896.2 crore in FY25, signalling modest top-line growth in a challenging media environment. Total income stood at Rs 1,978.2 crore, compared to Rs 1,913 crore a year earlier.
Profit after tax came in at Rs 306.6 crore for the year, a sharp turnaround from Rs 3,225.4 crore in FY25, largely reflecting the absence of large exceptional items that had inflated the previous year’s numbers. On a more comparable basis, the company’s operating performance showed signs of gradual stabilisation.
However, the quarterly picture remained under pressure. For the March quarter, Network18 reported a loss of Rs 53.1 crore, narrower than the Rs 98.1 crore loss in the same period last year, but still indicative of ongoing cost challenges.
Expenses continued to track high. Total expenses for FY26 stood at Rs 2,235.7 crore, up from Rs 2,197.8 crore in FY25. Key cost heads included operational expenses of Rs 765.9 crore, employee benefits of Rs 475.9 crore, and marketing, distribution and promotional spends of Rs 427.1 crore, underlining the continued investment required to sustain reach and engagement.
At an operating level, margins remained under strain. Operating margin stood at 2.33 per cent for FY26, marginally higher than 1.77 per cent in FY25, while net profit margin remained negative at -13.02 per cent, though improved from -14.89 per cent.
On the balance sheet, total assets rose to Rs 8,957.6 crore as of 31 March 2026, from Rs 8,317.5 crore a year earlier. Equity strengthened to Rs 4,958.7 crore, while borrowings increased to Rs 3,112.8 crore, reflecting a higher reliance on debt to support operations.
Cash flows told a mixed story. While financing activities generated Rs 83.9 crore, operating cash flow remained negative at Rs -24 crore, highlighting ongoing pressure on core cash generation. Cash and cash equivalents, however, improved to Rs 33.9 crore from Rs 1.8 crore.
The numbers point to a company in transition growing revenues, trimming losses, but still grappling with structural cost pressures. In a sector where scale often comes at a price, Network18 seems to be inching towards balance, one quarter at a time.
