MAM
RB partners with NDTV & Facebook to launch “Dettol – Banega Swachh India”
MUMBAI: As the global leader in consumer health and hygiene, RB (formerly called Reckitt Benckiser), today announced a 5 year ambitious program in partnership with NDTV and Facebook – “Dettol – Banega Swachh India”. With a commitment of making India healthier and cleaner by 2019, RB has made a commitment to invest a sum of INR 100 crores towards this initiative across the next 5 years. The program aims to spread awareness around the importance of hygiene and sanitations to millions across the country and has introduced Indian film actor and legend, Mr. Amitabh Bachchan as the program ambassador for this mega campaign.
With a history of over 150 years of innovation and the DNA engraved in health and hygiene, RB has powerbrands such as Dettol and Harpic, which are considered as gold standard in hygiene and sanitation segments. Through the partnership, RB aims to combine the on-ground expertise and vast presence of NDTV network with the massive reach of Facebook through online and mobile to address one of the most critical challenges faced by our country. NGO partners such as CAF will bring on-board their implementation expertise to execute the programs and will be supported by the Sulabh International & WaterAid as knowledge partners.
To kick off the program, a “Dettol – Banega Swachh India” bus will be flagged off in October, which will cover around 400 villages across 8 states – Haryana, Rajasthan, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, MP & Maharashtra. The objective of the bus will be to create awareness around hygiene and sanitation through interactive videos, flyer distributions, posters, hand-washing sessions and street plays. The partners in the initiative will continue with an ongoing dialogue for the next year to explore more opportunities for making a difference towards this initiative.
Emphasizing on the lack of hygienic conditions in India, Mr. Nitish Kapoor, Managing Director, RB India said, “As a global leader in consumer health and hygiene, our purpose is to improve the hygiene and sanitation in the daily lives of our consumers. We have been committed to the cause for a long time,
but now it is time to step up and reach out to a much larger audience. Our commitment to the program and collaboration with like-minded partners is just the beginning of our journey towards a healthier and cleaner India by 2019.”
Speaking at the occasion, campaign ambassador, Mr. Amitabh Bachchan, said, “There are a few causes that I feel very strongly about like Saving the Tiger, Eradicating Polio and TB. Sanitation has been on my mind for a very long time & when this opportunity presented itself, I had to be a part of this movement. Banega Swachh India is a dream each one of us should have in our hearts and minds and make it a part of our daily lives; only then can our country prosper.”
Vikram Chandra, Group CEO, NDTV said, “It is disturbing to realize that for all its many successes India still suffers from lack of sanitation in most parts of the country. NDTV is pleased to support such an initiative. Sanitation is a fundamental human right and we are proud to partner with Dettol, to try to do something about this problem. We hope that we can make a significant contribution to this cause.”
“Through Dettol – Banega Swachh India, RB is showing that the right combination of people and technology can lead to effective social solutions that tackle some of the largest and most difficult challenges we face in India,” said Kirthiga Reddy, Managing Director, Facebook India. “ We are excited to join hands with RB and help this national initiative build a presence by reaching over 100 million people on Facebook across India by leveraging our strength in mobile — both smartphone and feature phone. Our collaborative efforts make this movement social, personal and relevant by inspiring people to action through powerful stories to keep India clean.”
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.
