News Broadcasting
ICSP to spearhead the capital’s cable ops
NEW DELHI: A fragmented cable industry is once again attempting to come together to put up a united front against the pay broadcasters in India.
Yet another cable industry body, the Independent Cable TV Service Providers (ICSP), of the National Capital Region of Delhi (NCR) has been formed. Comprising independent cable operators, as the name suggests, the organisation claims it is not a joint venture of partners or licensees of any multi- system operator (MSO).
The idea behind the new organization is to negotiate, on behalf of the members, a uniform price for pay channels, which are again set to revise upward the annual subscription rates, and act as a single-window negotiation counter.
As usual, the signatories’ list looks impressive and has been spearheaded by Vikki Choudhry, who is also the president of the Delhi based National Cable and Telecom Association.
According to Choudhry, “It is generally seen that MSOs give the pay channels to their licensees or joint venture partners at differential rates, sometimes much lower than the announced rates. This preferential treatment allows some cable operators to keep the monthly rates low. Our aim would be to negotiate a uniform price for all pay channels to all the independent cable operators not aligned with any MSO.”
However, it is still not clear how the broadcasters and MSOs would react to this new initiative of the independent cable ops. A senior executive of a broadcaster operating pay channels, in a cautious reaction, says, “We’d have to wait and watch to see what this is all about and how this newly-formed body, as you are saying, takes up issues as we have not heard anything formally.”
Choudhry, however, points out that Monday onwards, a formal communication would go out to broadcasters on the ICSP’s demands.
The following are the resolutions adopted at the first meeting of the ICSP:
* Give collective payments of the amounts payable by each of the undersigned/ members to be paid to pay TV broadcasters by the “consortium” or CSPO before the due dates.
* The consortium shall act as ” one window” through which its members shall make the payments to the pay channels.
* All the members will stand together and act in a manner that shall be beneficial for the interest of its members and in the interest of the consumers at large.
* All negotiations / dealings /execution of service contracts and other work with the pay channels will be done jointly by the select committee on behalf of all the ICSP consortium members.
The committee members include Choudhry, Raaj Mutereja, Inderjeet Singh, Brijesh K Sharma, Sanjeev Sachdeva, Singh Raj, Suresh Yadav, Anil Dargan, Rajeshwar Choudhary and Satish Saini.
The signatories to the resolution include independent cable ops like Cablevision Network’s Inderjeet S, Trinetravision’s Anil Khera, Brijesh Sharma of Home Cable TV Network in Ghaziabad on the outskirts of Delhi, WAC Star’s Satish Sharma , Arcy Cable TV Network’s Sushil Kumar Katon and Pradeep Arora, Mohan Electronics’ Inder Mohan, Citiview Cable [P] Ltd, Gurgaon’s Sanjeev Sachdeva, Sanjay Dosajh of Channel “n” Channel Cable Network in Gurgaon, Bobby Skylines’ Vikas Tyagi, Videospectrum’s Dinesh Bidichandani, Satellite Vision’s Rajeshwar, Multivision’s Ashok Sharma, Skychannel’s Sunil Sasan, Multivision Network’s Aditya Sharma, Avdhesh Sharma of Priyadarshni Cable TV Network in Ghaziabad and Cable Quest magazine owner Roop Sharma.
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.
