News Broadcasting
The Packer Package
Channel Nine chief Kerry Packer had a very busy India visit last week. He announced that he was very firm on making India his numero uno investment place following Australia. India has more advantage than his motherland due to the population which stands at almost a billion as compared to Australia’s 20 million, he pointed out. India is also known for “brains” and is an emerging superpower in IT, telecom and media sectors.
Being kicked by the convergence wave, Packer has lined up interesting investments in India. He has picked up a stake in telecom company Himachal Futuristic Communications Limited (HFCL) at a cost of Rs 11,000 million. On 27 March 2000, he joined hands with the blazing broker Ketan Parekh and HFCL chief Vinay Maloo to set up a Rs 11 billion venture capital fund – KVP Ventures. He has already invested close to Rs 700 million in four Indian software and dotcoms ventures. These include the cricket portal cricketnext.com, Omega Portals Ltd’s children portal mykindasite.com, Hexaware Technologies and Chennai based Radiant Software.
Packer is closely observing the Broadcasting regulations which do not allow majority stake of foreign players in Indian media companies. He is likely to pick up small stakes in media and entertainment companies thus staying in tune with the government policies. Talks were already on to introduce a sports channel in India and the Aussie tycoon met up with the Sahara Group boss Subroto Roy. The group recently launched a general entertainment channel in India. The sports channel will be directly pitched against ESPN and Star Sports.
What is to be seen is whether Packer succeeds in India which has a presence of giants like Subhash Chandra and his arch rival Murdoch who’s recent India visit unleashed his new ambitions for this region. It will be a wait and watch scenario in which the general consumer will more or less benefit.
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.
