News Broadcasting
Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran is Business Today’s Business Icon of the Year
Mumbai: Tata Group Chairman N. Chandrasekaran was Awarded the newly instituted Business Icon of the Year, while Infosys Co-founder and Chairman Nandan Nilekani was honoured with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement award at the BT-PwC India’s Best CEOs ranking at a glittering ceremony in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Chandrasekaran won top honours in a ranking that had 19 other winners, including Nilekani.
Union Minister for Civil Aviation and Steel Jyotiraditya Scindia honoured the 20 winners of India Inc at the event, which takes off from Business Today’s Best CEOs issue – an annual compendium of top leaders from various sectors who are leading from the front amid challenging times and geopolitical scenarios.
Scindia also unveiled Business Today’s Best CEOs special issue which profiled the winners belonging to three overall categories – Super Large (TV Narendran, CEO and MD, Tata Steel); Mid-sized (Ashish Bharat Ram, Chairman of SRF); and Emerging (A. Prathap Reddy, Chairman of Balaji Amines) — and across 15 sectors.
Sector-wise winners included Puneet Yadu Dalmia, MD & CEO, Dalmia Bharat (cement), Praveer Sinha, CEO & MD, Tata Power (power), Sandeep Kumar Gupta, CMD, GAIL (oil & gas), Shashi Kiran Shetty, Founder and Chairman, Allcargo Group (Transport & Logistics), Sanjay Koul, CMD, Timken India (Auto & Auto Ancillaries), S. Suresh, MD, EID Parry (Agriculture & Allied), Deepak C Mehta, CMD, Deepak Nitrite (Chemicals), Sajjan Bhajanka, Chairman, Century Plyboards (Industrials), Parmod Sagar, MD & CEO – India, RHI Magnesita (Consumer Goods), Suneeta Reddy, MD, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (Pharma & Healthcare), Suresh Narayanan, CMD, Nestlé India (FMCG) and Dinesh Kumar Khara, Chairman, SBI (BFSI).
The winners were based on BT-PwC India’s Best CEOs ranking. The study used a robust methodology to assess the top 500 most valuable companies in the country by market capitalisation for growth in revenues, profits, EBITDA and total shareholder returns. After applying further stringent filters, the names of top 3 CEOs in each group – overall and sector-wise – were placed before the jury, who chose the final winners.
This year’s jury comprised Ajay Piramal, Chairman, Piramal Group (Jury Chair); Cyril Shroff, Managing Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas; Milind Sarwate, Founder & CEO, Increate Value Advisors; Mehul Pandya, MD & CEO, CARE Ratings; Mathew Cyriac, Executive Chairman, Florintree Advisors; and J.N. Gupta, Co-founder & MD, Stakeholders Empowerment Services.
The awards ceremony was the highlight of the day-long BT MindRush programme, BT’s flagship annual conference. The programme saw several stars of corporate India such as N. Chandrasekaran, Nandan Nilekani and Piramal Group Chairman Ajay Piramal talk about the burning topics of the day. In addition, there were master classes from Swami Gaur Gopal Das and Prof. Saugata Ray of ISB, besides two stimulating panel discussions involving top corporate leaders such as Suresh Narayanan, CMD of Nestle India, Suneeta Reddy, MD of Apollo Hospitals, TV Narendran of Tata Steel, Praveer Sinha, CEO & MD of Tata Power, among others.
BT MindRush was started in 2013. Since then, the event has established itself as one of the most sought-after conferences in the Indian corporate calendar.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 rolls out Battle for the States ahead of key polls
Multi-format election coverage tracks voter mood across five battleground states
NEW DELHI: CNN-News18 has launched a special election programming initiative titled Battle for the States, as India gears up for high-stakes Assembly elections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
Built around the theme ‘Road to Power’, the multi-format coverage aims to follow the entire electoral journey, from campaigning and polling to results and government formation. The network is leaning into on-ground reportage and data-backed storytelling to decode voter sentiment across regions where local issues often shape the narrative.
The programming line-up includes ‘Vote Tracker’, a three-part series developed in collaboration with survey agency Vote Vibe. The show blends survey insights with expert commentary and field reporting, using augmented reality graphics to present complex electoral data such as vote share, seat projections and leadership preferences in a more accessible format. It will air every Monday evening until April 6.
Adding a cultural lens to political reporting is ‘So Saree!’, a ground-driven segment where women anchors travel across constituencies dressed in traditional handwoven sarees from each state. The format uses attire as a storytelling device, highlighting regional identity while capturing grassroots voices.
Meanwhile, ‘Unfiltered Kaapi’ and ‘Chai-Niti’ bring a more conversational tone, drawing inspiration from everyday political discussions in tea stalls and coffee corners. These segments aim to break down key issues through candid, fast-paced exchanges between anchors and reporters, tailored to regional sensibilities.
For viewers seeking deeper insights, the weekend docuseries ‘Reporters Project’ takes a longer view, with correspondents travelling across constituencies to map voter concerns and political shifts on the ground.
“Elections are about people, their aspirations, identities and the issues that matter to them, and every state tells a different story,” said CNN-News18 editorial affairs director Rahul Shivshankar. He added that the initiative focuses on understanding “the sentiment on the ground and what’s driving voter choices”.
Echoing the emphasis on credibility, Network18 CEO – English and business news Smriti Mehra said the network aims to combine on-ground reporting with data-led insights to deliver clear and timely coverage as the elections unfold.
With a mix of data, culture and grassroots reporting, CNN-News18 is positioning Battle for the States as a comprehensive window into one of India’s most closely watched electoral cycles, where every vote carries a story waiting to be told.
