MAM
CoinDCX appoints Kiran Vivekananda as chief of public policy & government affairs
MUMBAI: Crypto company CoinDCX has strengthened its senior leadership team by appointing Kiran Vivekananda as chief of public policy and government affairs to lead the company’s public policy and government affairs initiatives. In his new role, Vivekananda will lead CoinDCX’s Public Policy function, working closely with regulators and industry stakeholders and helping drive a positive narrative for the crypto industry in India.
Vivekananda joins CoinDCX from Dream Sports Inc, where he was the chief policy officer and was responsible for driving advocacy efforts for the online gaming industry. He comes in with the rich experience of over two decades. Earlier, he worked with Uber India, HCL Infosystems, to name a few.
CoinDCX co-founder & CEO Sumit Gupta said, “We are delighted to have Kiran lead our public policy portfolio. Kiran’s deep expertise in developing public policy strategies will strengthen our efforts to push the Indian crypto industry mandate and represent the industry at relevant forums”.
Speaking on the appointment, Vivekananda said, “I look forward to working towards supporting a progressive policy and regulatory environment for the crypto industry”. He further added, “The Indian VDA market is the second-largest in the world and I believe that this presents a tremendous opportunity for India to lead the world in the technology-driven digital innovation in the crypto/ Web 3.0 space. I will leverage my experience in addressing concerns of regulators and in driving positive narratives/use cases of the crypto/blockchain technology”.
According to CoinDCX, it continues to strengthen its talent pool and is hiring across functions as it continues to build innovative products and services for the users. Safety and compliance continue to take centre stage as the company is committed to doubling down its efforts in the Indian market. CoinDCX has been working closely with all stakeholders who can help position crypto in the mainstream of India’s digital economy.
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.
