MAM
MEC India appoints Ajit Gurnani as head, West
MUMBAI: MEC India, a media and planning agency and founding partner of GroupM, has appointed Ajit Gurnani as head of MEC West.
The post-graduate from the Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad (MICA), Gurnani will be reporting to MEC India managing director T Gangadhar.
Speaking about the appointment, Gangadhar said, “Mumbai is our biggest office by far and I am pleased that we have found a quality leader like Ajit to head our operations here. Given his rich vein of experience, I have no doubt that Ajit will make valuable contributions – to clients and staff alike.”
Gurnani has more than 16 years of experience in the field of media and marketing. Prior to this, he was with Mindshare as principal partner, was a part of Jagran.com and Starcom Digital.
On his new role, Gurnani said, “I am excited about the opportunity and challenge that this assignment provides to me. I look forward to working with the team and help create business building work that wins accolades and recognition.”
MEC is a media agency whose services include media planning and buying, digital media, mobile, search, performance marketing and social media management, among others. The agency has a global headcount of 4,500 people with domestic and international clients across 84 countries.
Digital
Mukesh Ambani pledges Rs 10 lakh crore to power India’s AI rise
From data to intelligence, Reliance bets big on an AI revolution
NEW DELHI: Billionaire Mukesh Ambani on Thursday unveiled a jaw-dropping Rs 10 lakh crore investment plan to catapult India into the artificial intelligence era, promising to transform the country’s digital landscape much like he did with mobile data.
Speaking at the India AI Impact Summit, Ambani painted a vision of “super abundance” powered by AI. “Artificial Intelligence is not just another technology. For the first time, humans are creating systems that can learn, speak, analyse, move, and produce autonomously,” he said. Drawing a vivid analogy, he added, “I see AI as a modern-day Akshay Patra, the legendary vessel in the Mahabharat that provided endless nourishment. Likewise, AI offers limitless augmentation in knowledge, efficiency, and productivity.”
Ambani outlined a stark fork in the global AI road. “One path leads to scarce, expensive AI and controlled data, the other ensures AI is affordable and accessible,” he said. “India cannot afford to rent intelligence. We will reduce the cost of intelligence as dramatically as we did the cost of data.”
The Reliance chairman highlighted Jio’s role in building the country’s digital backbone, pointing out that India is the world’s largest mobile data consumer, with nearly 1 billion internet users enjoying some of the lowest costs globally. “In terms of quality, there is no difference between Delhi and the remotest Indian village,” he said.
Jio Intelligence will spearhead the plan with a three-pronged approach. Gigawatt-scale data centres are already under construction in Jamnagar, with 120 megawatts expected online in the second half of 2026, paving the way for large-scale AI training. A green energy advantage of up to 10 gigawatts of surplus power, anchored in solar plants in Kutch and Andhra Pradesh, will fuel the AI push sustainably. Finally, a nationwide edge compute layer integrated with Jio’s network will make AI responsive, low-latency, and affordable for citizens across India.
Ambani concluded with a bullish note on India’s strengths. “No country can match India’s strength in demography, democracy, development, digital infrastructure, data generation, and AI harvest,” he said. With 1.4 billion Aadhaar IDs, over 12 billion monthly UPI transactions, and a booming startup ecosystem of over 100,000 ventures including more than 100 unicorns, India is poised to emerge as a global AI powerhouse.
The Rs 10 lakh crore investment will roll out over seven years, starting this year. Ambani stressed that this is “not speculative investment. It is patient, disciplined nation-building capital,” signalling a long-term vision that promises to place India firmly on the global AI map.
