News Broadcasting
Contract Advertising appoints Ashish Chakravarty as its National Creative Director
MUMBAI :Contract advertising today announced the appointment of Ashish Chakravarty as its National Creative Director.
A highly awarded advertising creative professional with over 20 years of experience, Ashish is known for
creating some of the biggest brands in the country.
In his role as NCD, he will be directly responsible for all creative output for Contract across all its verticals, which include mainstream advertising, iContract, Designsutra and Core Consulting. He will work closely with the senior creative team which includes Juju Basu, Kapil Mishra, Amod Dani, Kaushik Roy, Azazul Haque and Raymond Patel (Rayo) to provide the best solutions for Contract's clients, brands, and team.
Ashish joins from McCann Worldgroup, Delhi where he was the Creative Chief. As part of his role, he has led the team to many successes across the brands he's worked on and several award winning pitches and campaigns. He has grown McCann, Delhi to the 3rd biggest single agency office in South Asia and amongst the top 2 awarded agencies in Delhi.
"I am delighted to have Ashish join Contract as NCD, India. He is one of the most awarded and sought after creative professionals in the country. His experience of working with the best brands across agencies and his line-up of award winning work will bring in a huge value add to Contract and its clients. I welcome him back to Contract and look forward to him partnering me and Rohit Srivastava, Chief Strategy Officer, and the senior management team to deliver on our creative vision", says Rana Barua, Chief Operating Officer, Contract Advertising.
Before joining McCann, Ashish was with Contract where he was part of the team that won Contract its first Silver Pencil; and made it the top internationally awarded agency in Delhi. He has also worked with Euro RSCG, TBWA and JWT, from where he started his career.
"Contract has always had an iconic creative leadership, and I am conscious of the very large shoes, that I am stepping into. So naturally, I am excited with this opportunity to lead and shape the creative product of the agency from here on. I believe that when people with diverse talents and skills engage meaningfully and intensely, they create the truly unexpected and wonderful. Having worked with both Rana, and Rohit in the past, I am confident that we are on our way to make Contract a very exciting place for creatives, and clients alike", said Ashish Chakravarty.
In the course of his career, Ashish has worked with some of leading brands in the country which include, Nescafe, Dabur, Coca Cola, Unicef, SAIL, ONGC, NIIT, Domino's, JK Tyre, Fortis, Mastercard, IREO and Nestle to name a few. He is credited with winning close to 150 national and international awards across categories and brands; and served as jury at Spikes, Adfest, CLIO and Goafest.
He will succeed Ravi Deshpande who has left recently to pursue his own endeavours.
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.
