MAM
Paras Health launches #ProudWomenOfIndia campaign
Over 500 women share inspiring stories of courage and resilience.
MUMBAI: Paras Health just turned Women’s Day into a mic-drop moment because when real women step up to share their stories, even the hospital starts applauding. Paras Health has launched #ProudWomenOfIndia, a powerful Women’s Day 2026 campaign celebrating women who chose themselves and took bold steps to shape their lives while inspiring others. The initiative invited women across India to share defining moments changing careers, stepping away from limiting situations, prioritising health, starting anew or standing up for themselves through a digital form and social media.
Over 500 women from diverse backgrounds doctors, teachers, entrepreneurs, social workers and professionals participated, sharing deeply personal journeys of resilience and transformation. Many highlighted how their choices not only changed their own paths but uplifted families and communities.
Key stories include Keya Sen from Patna, who rebuilt her life after losing her father days before her wedding and her husband while raising a young son. From corporate roles to a tea cart business and baking during the pandemic, her reinvention shows how adversity can fuel opportunity. Jatinder Pal Kaur from the Tricity region stepped away from business due to health issues, pivoting to social work and NGO collaborations to drive community change.
The campaign kicked off with “The Way She Thinks” at Fabindia’s Vasant Kunj centre, where Dr Kanchan Kaur (senior director, Breast Cancer, Medanta Gurugram) spoke on early breast cancer detection. Awareness cards with QR codes linking to doctor-led videos were distributed, and outreach will extend to Fabindia’s artisan communities.
Activations across Paras Health units include health camps, talks, storytelling sessions and felicitation ceremonies honouring women whose journeys reflect courage and impact.
Paras Health GCOO Vineet Aggarwal said, “Women play a crucial role in shaping families, communities, and the nation. Through #ProudWomenOfIndia, we wanted to create a platform where women can share their inspiring journeys and celebrate the moments when they chose themselves.”
In a world quick to celebrate women once a year, Paras Health quietly reminds us that the real tribute is listening every day because when women’s stories are heard, the whole country grows stronger, one brave step at a time.
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.
