MAM
Star Plus continues at the top; GRP gap with Colors remains wide
MUMBAI: Star Plus may have shed a little fat that it earned on the back of Star Parivaar Awards but nevertheless it still maintains a vice-like grip on the leadership crown for the week ended 26 June.
In fact, despite a 32 step GRP fall over the previous week, Star Plus‘s gap with the second in command Colors still remains significantly wide (a difference of 158 GRPs).
The weekday prime time gains continued, contributing an extra 13 points (160 GRPs, 147 GRPs in previous week) to the channel kitty.
Bidaai (Monday – Friday 9 pm), Star Plus‘ top rated show for the week, registered a peak TVR of 7.24 while it averaged a TVR of 6.6 (5 TVR in previous week).
Yeh Rishta (Monday-Friday 9.30 pm), meanwhile, attained a peak TVR of 6.99. The average for the show was at 6.2 TVR and was a distinct slot leader. The Saturday special at 8 pm delivered 4.2 TVR.
The newly launched Tere Liye also continues to grab the viewership pie at the 10 pm slot with a peak TVR of 4.19 and an average TVR of 3.9 (3.8 TVR previous week).
Says Star India EVP marketing and communications Anupam Vasudev, “Our weekday primetime is almost 60 per cent higher than everybody else‘s and this is because of the channel‘s organic growth as we are fundamentally leading in all the day part primetime slots from 6.30 pm – 11 pm except the 8 pm band.”
Contributions from weekend original programming (25 GRPs as against 22 GRPs in previous week) and weekend movies (22 GRPs, 17 GRPs previous week) have also inched upward. Meanwhile, GRPs from weekday afternoon remain stable.
The IIFA Awards Sri Lanka Flashback, the first IIFA property aired on Sunday 10 pm, delivered 1.4 TVR over two hours garnering 5.6 GRPs for the channel while the world TV premiere of Bum Bum Bole on Sunday at 6.30 pm delivered 1.5 TVR and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai on Sunday at 1 pm delivered 1.9 TVR.
And now, the challenge ahead for Star will be to maintain the brand trajectory that has moved up to a higher scale.
“Though it is a challenge, our weekday primetime looks strong and properties are gaining muscle across the portfolio. So we are optimistic,” opines Vasudev.
As for Colors, the primetime slot has lost yet some more gloss as the band lost 10 more points over the week 25 grab (100 GRPs, 110 GRPs in previous week) and the channel dropped by 23 GRPs.
While Uttaran‘s peak TVR was at 4.2, its week‘s average TVR remains almost stable. Meanwhile, Balika Vadhu‘s average TVR has dropped significantly to 3.7 TVR (4.8 TVR).
Colors had shown four movies during the weekend, none of which could fetch enough to lift the GRP grade. The genre overall contributed 17 GRPs to the channel, down from the 24 that it had earned in the previous week.
The movies shown were Bhool Bhulaiyya (Sunday 8 pm, 1.1 TVR), Bhootnath (Saturday 6.50 pm, 1 TVR) that ran with just a promo break, Golmaal Returns (Saturday 3.45 pm, 0.6 TVR) and Do Not Disturb (Sunday 5.15 pm, 0.5 TVR).
Zee TV at 211 GRPs saw a drop of 20 points over the previous week. While there was a significant drop in weekday primetime (99 GRPs, 116 points in previous week), its weekday afternoon remained stable.
Pavitra Rishta¸ the highest rated show for the channel, though saw a peak TVR of 4.75, its average TVR fell to 4.4 TVR (5.3 TVR in previous week). In fact, Jhansi Ki Rani (Monday -Ffiday 8 pm) was the only weekday show that saw an increase in its average TVR at 3.5 (3.4 TVR in previous week). However, the channel did gain nine extras from the movies it showed during the weekend (13 GRPs, 5 GRPs in previous week). It featured Gadar on Sunday at 7 pm that delivered 1.1 TVR while Tridev on Saturday at 4.30 pm delivered 0.6 TVR.
Overall, the channel genres which have grown this week are Hindi News with 57 GRPs (147 GRPs), Hindi Movies with 446 GRPs (439 GRPs) and youth with 129 GRPs (121 GRPs). The genres which dropped are: Hindi general entertainment with 1323 GRPs (1374 GRPs) and sports with 171 GRPs (187 GRPs).
MAM
India’s employability gap persists despite strong hiring intent
Only 1 in 5 institutions achieve 76 to 100 per cent placements within six months of graduation.
MUMBAI: India’s young workforce is ready in numbers, but the real question is whether they are ready for work and senior leaders from industry, academia and policy gathered in Delhi to find practical answers. A closed-door roundtable hosted by Vaishali Nigam Sinha, co-founder of Renew, brought together key voices to discuss actionable solutions for bridging the persistent employability gap. The session highlighted that while job opportunities are expanding, the alignment between education and industry needs remains a critical challenge.
According to Teamlease EdTech’s Career Outlook Report HY1 2026, 73 per cent of employers plan to hire freshers in the first half of 2026, signalling steady recovery in entry-level hiring. However, employers are shifting focus from mere qualifications to demonstrable capability, placing greater value on internships, live projects and proof-of-work.
Teamlease Edtech, founder and CEO Shantanu Rooj emphasised the need for better alignment, “India’s employability challenge is no longer about access alone, but about alignment between education and work. Employers are increasingly relying on demonstrable capability such as internships, projects, and applied learning as indicators of readiness.”
Vaishali Nigam Sinha stressed the importance of execution over intent, “India has both the talent and the opportunity. What is needed now is alignment. We have to move from intent to execution by embedding employability into the system itself.”
Other prominent speakers included Dr Chenraj Roychand, Chancellor of Jain (Deemed-to-be) University, who called for universities to evolve from degree providers to ecosystem enablers, Prof M. Jagadesh Kumar, Chairman of the Board of Governors at IIM Calcutta, who highlighted the need for flexibility and multidisciplinary learning, and Dr T.N. Singh, Director of IIT Patna, who advocated deeper industry engagement through research and experiential learning.
The discussion also drew insights from the book Accelerating Impact. Enabling Dreams – Making India Employable by Shantanu Rooj and co-authors, which features contributions from leaders like Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Dr Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan and Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
During the event, Teamlease Edtech Foundation launched Project SEED, a national initiative aimed at bridging the education-employability gap for underserved youth. The project focuses on early intervention at the school level to guide students towards informed career choices and work-integrated pathways.
With only 16.67 per cent (1 in 5) of institutions achieving 76–100 per cent placements within six months of graduation, the conversation made one thing clear, India’s demographic dividend will deliver real value only when education and employability walk hand in hand. The gathering served as a timely reminder that the future of India’s workforce depends not just on creating more jobs, but on preparing young people far better to seize them.
