News Broadcasting
Network18 signs MoU with St Stephen’s College
MUMBAI: Network18, promoter of news brands CNN-IBN and IBN7, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with St Stephen’s College, which will further the aim of educational inclusivity. As part of this initiative, Stephen’s College will offer a certificate course in Citizenship & Cultural Richness.
Under the course, St Stephen’s College will hold weekly classes conducted by its regular faculty and alumni including top serving and retired judges, bureaucrats and renowned academicians.
The lecture content will be hosted across the digital and social media platforms of Network18 (ibnlive.com & ibnkhabar.com) and St Stephen’s College.
While inaugurating the course, Supreme Court judge Justice Madan B Lokur, said, “This course is ready to reach out to people to make them better citizens and to help the society.”
St Stephen’s College principal Valson Thampu feels the very purpose of the course is to enable students and citizens to live a rich life and to become responsible citizens. “I am delighted that Network 18, particularly CNN-IBN has gladly come forward to support this initiative, which is a signal of the robustness of media,” said Thampu.
Network18 president – news Umesh Upadhyay added, “We will help in every way possible to promote this course and make this an initiative that will make our youth into responsible citizens, who contribute to the growth of this country. We are grateful to St Stephen’s for partnering us on this mission to help make media more responsible and conscientious.”
CNN-IBN and IBN7 will align their Citizen Journalist show with the course offered under the joint initiative. The idea is to encourage the citizens enrolled in the course to become citizen journalists and highlight issues and problems around them as faced by the common man.
News Broadcasting
Rising Bharat Summit 2026 spotlights India’s global ascent
PM Modi keynotes two-day event with ministers, diplomats and icons in New Delhi.
MUMBAI: India didn’t just host a summit, it threw a coming-out party for a nation ready to own the global stage. The News18 Rising Bharat Summit 2026, held on 27–28 February in New Delhi, emerged as a high-octane platform for ideas, vision and strategic dialogue, uniting national leadership, global policymakers, industry titans, defence strategists and cultural icons under the theme “Strength Within”.
Prime minister Narendra Modi set the tone with a keynote that framed India’s resurgence as a reclaiming of lost potential built over generations. “In previous industrial revolutions, India and the Global South were merely followers,” he said. “But in the era of Artificial Intelligence, India is a partner in decisions and shaping them.” He highlighted the country’s thriving AI startup ecosystem and the recent AI Impact Summit attended by over 100 nations.
Union minister Piyush Goyal (Commerce & Industry) stressed India’s readiness to scale exports and deepen manufacturing, while Ashwini Vaishnaw (Railways, I&B, Electronics & IT) positioned technology and infrastructure as twin engines of growth, especially in AI and digital trust. Jyotiraditya Scindia (Communications & North East Development) revealed India’s ambition to lead in 6G through the Bharat 6G Alliance and partnerships with over 30 countries.
Global voices added depth: former Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo called India’s development “self-sustaining” and strategically vital; ex-UK Chief of Defence Staff General Sir Nick Carter asserted India deserves a seat at the great powers’ table; and former US Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez joined ambassadors from Norway, Germany and Sweden in discussions on geopolitical realignment, sustainability and defence preparedness.
Other speakers included veteran investor Ramesh Damani, World Gold Council CEO David Tait, Vianai Systems founder Dr Vishal Sikka, DeepTech Bharat Foundation co-founder Shashi Shekhar Vempati, defence experts Rajesh Kumar Singh, Sunil Ambekar, Patrick McGee, Tom Cooper and Adrian Fontanellaz, plus cultural and sporting icons Kangana Ranaut, Saina Nehwal, PR Sreejesh, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mithali Raj, Anil Kapoor and Yami Gautam.
The summit was supported by Jio Financial Services (Presenting Partner), Phonepe and DS Group (Co-Presenting Partners), Pernod Ricard India and Kia Seltos (Powered By & Driven By), state governments of Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand (State Partners), and associate partners including NSE, M3M Foundation and Reliance Industries.
Broadcast live across News18 Network, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, the event reinforced India’s image as a confident democracy and emerging global power proving that when strength comes from within, the world can’t help but watch.
