MAM
Kaustubh Radkar becomes Garmin India’s brand ambassador
Mumbai: Garmin India has signed Indian triathlete Kaustubh Radkar as the brand ambassador of its fitness segment. Kaustubh Radkar has also been chosen as one of the Fit India ambassadors, as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Fit India Movement, which was started in 2019. The movement’s goal is to lead the country down a road of fitness and wellness, transforming India into a fit society.
Radkar has also been involved with Garmin India as a coach and will now be the face of Garmin’s fitness segment in India which includes running, cycling and swimming featuring devices such as the Forerunner GPS Smartwatch, Edge GPS bike computer, Rally Series and Tacx series.
Kaustubh Radkar is an Ironman certified coach and is the first and only Indian to complete the Ironman Triathlon on 30 occasions. In 2017 October and May 2022, he was the only Indian to complete the Ironman World Championship in Kona Hawaii and in St. George, Utah. Having studied and worked at the prestigious Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD (USA), he was the fastest Indian at the Comrades Ultra Marathon in 2016 and holds the record for the fastest debut for an Indian at Ultraman Florida. He was also a former Indian national swimming champion from 1995 to 2000. The Ultraman triathlon is a three-day event that includes 10 km of swimming, 423 km of cycling, and 84.4 km of running (for a total of 517.5 km) carried out over three days with a 12-hour cut-off on each day.
Commenting on the announcement, Garmin Southeast Asia and India director Sky Chen said, “We are thrilled to make Kaustubh the face of Garmin fitness segment in India and we feel he truly embodies everything Garmin stands for. Garmin products have always been the first choice of athletes and runners across the world. We are confident that Kaustubh and his achievements will inspire the young generation and future athletes in India to train hard and reach new heights in sports. We look forward to our association with Kaustubh Radkar.”
Talking about becoming the face of Garmin India’s Fitness segment, Kaustabh Radkar stated, “I have been an avid user of Garmin products for the past 14 years and have been involved with Garmin India as a coach since 2018. As an Ironman triathlete, I need to constantly train across multiple disciplines, i.e. running, swimming and cycling, and I’ve always depended upon my Garmin devices for my training and fitness. Garmin products have always been an excellent training partner in my journey, especially when I’m going for a Marathon or Ultramarathon or Ironman. I believe in what Garmin has to offer and that is why I stand with them today.”
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.
