MAM
Singer India appoints Shalini Gupta Vachher & Suresh Jangra, strengthening leadership team
Mumbai: Singer India Ltd, a 170-year-old company and a leading manufacturer of sewing machines and home appliances has announced the appointment of two senior leaders Shalini Gupta Vachher who joins as head of marketing and communications, and Suresh Jangra, who joins as VP of engineering excellence.
The appointments demonstrate Singer India’s commitment to strengthening its people strategy to support the company’s growth plans. Singer India plans to bring in new products, which will appeal to the new age consumer and is focusing on strengthening its market share with other new launches in the Sewing Machine category.
Singer India vice chairman & MD Rakesh Khanna said,” We welcome the new and experienced talent, who have joined the company at a time when we are shifting gears and working to create a new chapter in our journey, which is marked with growth, innovation and launching an exciting line up of new products. Shalini’s and Suresh’s onboarding is a step in partnering with talent which believes in our values, growth and lineage and is confident of creating a stronger and a better tomorrow with their vast experience in their respective domains.”
Shalini, who joins as head of marketing and communications, comes with more than two decades of experience in the communications industry, counselling and executing impactful campaigns. In her new role, Shalini will work closely with all stakeholders to redesign Singer India’s marketing and communication efforts to create a meaningful impact by focusing on digital marketing and strengthening the company’s communication across all platforms. She will be responsible for developing and executing innovative marketing campaigns that resonate with the new age customers and drive business growth.
Head of marketing and communication Shalini Gupta Vachher said, ” I am excited to be part of a brand which exists in most of the Indian households and one which evokes strong memories. I am looking forward to playing my part in Singer India’s journey of growth and success and I am confident that with a two-decade experience in building strong corporate reputation programs for clients, I will be able to add value to the new chapter, that is being written.”
Suresh Jangra, an accomplished engineer comes with over two decades of international and national experience having worked in companies such as Orient Electric, Carrier India, Metalfrio Solutions, Brazil. Suresh brings with him a deep understanding of product development, quality control, and manufacturing process. In his new role, he will be leading the engineering team, ensuring operational excellence, and driving innovation across Singer India’s product portfolio.
“I am pleased to join Singer India and together with its talented team of engineers, we will aspire to offer customer centric innovation to help Singer India achieve new heights of efficiency and excellence” added Engineering Excellence VP Suresh Jangra.
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.
