iWorld
Fans get clicking for Parineeti
MUMBAI: They say a picture is worth a thousand words in the social media space, Instagram puts that theory to practice. So when an actress as vivacious and candid as Parineeti Chopra, (who recently tweeted “Finally getting onto Instagram. Too excited! Follow me on parineetichopra”), decides to get on to Instagram, we can’t help but wait to see what she’s going to be up to on the platform.
Instagram is the mothership for selfie addicts, so Parineeti who debuts on Instagram on October 22nd (her birthday) has decided to celebrate this trend with a difference! Parineeti, in association with Fluence, the leading celebrity digital network, has asked all her selfie-addicted fans to send her their most animated selfies on her birthday. Adding to this Parineeti said, “Birthdays are about doing something fun and interesting. This year I’ve decided to join Instagram, something I’ve been contemplating for a while now. To add to the fun, I’ve thrown in a selfie challenge for all my fans with a little help from Fluence! I can’t wait to see their response. Now that I’m on Insta, I’m sure it’s going to be fun.”
The actress will collate the entries into a collage which will be her debut picture on Instagram. Commenting on Parineeti’s Instagram debut, Ashish Joshi, VP Digital & Business Head – Fluence says, “We are thrilled to launch the talented and spontaneous Parineeti on Instagram on the occasion of her birthday. Selfies have become an integral part of our lives today and they are a way of expressing oneself. Parineeti’s debut on Instagram will further elevate her engagement with her fans.”
But what we can’t wait for, is seeing her inputs on Instagram which we hope reflects the many moods of this incredibly talented ‘drama queen’ who can kill multiple ‘dil’s with a twinkle of an eye and her charming smile.
Fans of Parineeti can now feature on Parineeti’s board by sharing their craziest selfies with #parineetichopra.
Here’s wishing Parineeti an expressive, selfie-filled birthday.
iWorld
Akhil Gupta retires as Bharti Enterprises vice chairman after three decades
The man who outsourced Airtel’s network and built Indus Towers leaves behind a telecom industry transformed
NEW DELHI: He was not the most visible face of Bharti. He was, by most accounts, the most consequential one. Akhil Gupta, known within the group simply as AKG, has retired as vice chairman of Bharti Enterprises with effect from March 31st, 2026, closing a chapter that stretched across more than three decades and reshaped Indian telecoms in ways still felt today.
Gupta was there at the beginning, part of the core leadership team that steered Bharti Airtel from a scrappy domestic operator into one of the world’s largest telecom and digital services companies. But it is two decisions in particular that cement his legacy. The first was persuading the industry that a telecom company need not own its own network. His outsourcing partnerships with IBM and Ericsson, considered eccentric at the time, stripped out capital costs and sharpened Airtel’s competitive edge. The model was subsequently copied across the global industry. The second was the creation of Indus Towers, now one of the largest tower companies in the world.
Both initiatives were studied as case material at Harvard Business School, where Gupta himself had studied. A chartered accountant by training and a dealmaker by instinct, he accumulated industry accolades across his career without ever particularly courting the limelight.
Bharti Enterprises, announcing the retirement on LinkedIn, credited Gupta with building the foundation of the group’s success and driving innovation, partnerships and long-term value creation.
The tributes are deserved. Gupta did not just help build Airtel. In many respects, he helped invent the playbook that modern telecoms runs on.
