MAM
ONDC appoints Anupama Priyadarshini as Sr VP – corp governance, risk & compliance and investor relations
Mumbai: Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), an initiative of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, recently announced the addition of Anupama Priyadarshini to its team. By assuming the position of senior vice president – corporate governance, risk & compliance, and investor relations, she will play a crucial role in elevating the governance, risk management, compliance, and investor relations within the ONDC network, reinforcing its commitment to excellence and responsible business practices.
With a career spanning 25 years, Anupama has demonstrated her expertise in various sectors, including retail, steel manufacturing, and beverages. Most notably, she has spent 14 years with IKEA, serving as the CFO, Business Navigation Manager, and Director for IKEA Supply, South Asia. During her tenure, Anupama played a pivotal role in driving responsible and sustainable purchasing practices for IKEA’s global stores and markets while also increasing local sourcing in the Indian retail market. Her significant involvement in establishing IKEA’s footprint in India and South Asia has been instrumental in shaping the company’s growth strategy.
Prior to her tenure with IKEA, Anupama made substantial contributions to Tata Steel’s growth strategy, concentrating on enhancing its cost competitiveness on a global scale. She also had a brief but impactful stint with PepsiCo, where she was responsible for overseeing capital investments within the Indian beverages market. Beyond her corporate role, Anupama has served as a visiting faculty member at some prestigious institutions, including XIM University, MDI Gurgaon, and IRMA.
ONDC MD & CEO T Koshy said, “The ONDC team is delighted to welcome Anupama onboard. With her vast experience and proven expertise across diverse sectors, notably her instrumental roles at IKEA, Tata Steel, and PepsiCo, we are confident that she will be a key asset in enhancing ONDC’s commitment to corporate governance, risk management, compliance, and investor relations. We eagerly anticipate the valuable contributions she will bring as we continue to strengthen our commitment to excellence and responsible business practices within the ONDC Network.”
Expressing her enthusiasm for the role, Anupama Priyadarshini stated, “I’m excited to be a part of ONDC, which aims to make digital commerce more inclusive and accessible on a large scale for the country. By assuming the responsibilities of my new role, I foresee a tremendous opportunity to be a part of the evolutionary journey of a democratic ecommerce ecosystem. ONDC’s focus on leveraging Digital Public Infrastructure to benefit the masses through innovation and technology mirrors my values. I look forward to collaborating with this exceptional team to drive excellence as the network continues to grow and expand.”
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.
