News Broadcasting
Atanu Chakraborty gets RBI nod as part-time chairman of HDFC Bank
NEW DELHI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has confirmed the appointment of Atanu Chakraborty as the part-time chairman of HDFC Bank.
The privately-owned bank, on Friday, confirmed that former economic affairs secretary Atanu Chakraborty will be the part-time chairman of the bank for a period of three years, with effect from 5 May or the date of his taking charge, whichever is later.
Once appointed as part-time chairman, HDFC Bank will become the second private sector lender to have a former bureaucrat at this post. ICICI Bank had previously appointed former petroleum secretary and additional secretary in the ministry of finance GC Chaturvedi as its chairman.
A meeting of the board of directors of HDFC bank will be convened in due course inter‐alia to consider the appointment of Atanu Chakraborty as the part-time chairman and additional independent director, the bank said in a regulatory filing.
Chakraborty is a 1985 IAS officer in the Gujarat cadre. He retired from the post of secretary of the department of economic affairs in April 2020. Before that, he had worked as secretary of the department of investment and public asset management (DIPAM).
News Broadcasting
Network18 Q4 revenue grows 9.7 per cent, EBITDA at Rs 30 crore
PAT improves to Rs 306.6 crore, margins steady amid cost pressures.
MUMBAI: Not all news is breaking, some of it is quietly improving. Network18 Media & Investments Limited appears to be doing just that, tightening losses and stabilising margins even as costs continue to weigh on the business. For FY26, the company reported revenue from operations of Rs 1,955.1 crore, up from Rs 1,896.2 crore in FY25, signalling modest top-line growth in a challenging media environment. Total income stood at Rs 1,978.2 crore, compared to Rs 1,913 crore a year earlier.
Profit after tax came in at Rs 306.6 crore for the year, a sharp turnaround from Rs 3,225.4 crore in FY25, largely reflecting the absence of large exceptional items that had inflated the previous year’s numbers. On a more comparable basis, the company’s operating performance showed signs of gradual stabilisation.
However, the quarterly picture remained under pressure. For the March quarter, Network18 reported a loss of Rs 53.1 crore, narrower than the Rs 98.1 crore loss in the same period last year, but still indicative of ongoing cost challenges.
Expenses continued to track high. Total expenses for FY26 stood at Rs 2,235.7 crore, up from Rs 2,197.8 crore in FY25. Key cost heads included operational expenses of Rs 765.9 crore, employee benefits of Rs 475.9 crore, and marketing, distribution and promotional spends of Rs 427.1 crore, underlining the continued investment required to sustain reach and engagement.
At an operating level, margins remained under strain. Operating margin stood at 2.33 per cent for FY26, marginally higher than 1.77 per cent in FY25, while net profit margin remained negative at -13.02 per cent, though improved from -14.89 per cent.
On the balance sheet, total assets rose to Rs 8,957.6 crore as of 31 March 2026, from Rs 8,317.5 crore a year earlier. Equity strengthened to Rs 4,958.7 crore, while borrowings increased to Rs 3,112.8 crore, reflecting a higher reliance on debt to support operations.
Cash flows told a mixed story. While financing activities generated Rs 83.9 crore, operating cash flow remained negative at Rs -24 crore, highlighting ongoing pressure on core cash generation. Cash and cash equivalents, however, improved to Rs 33.9 crore from Rs 1.8 crore.
The numbers point to a company in transition growing revenues, trimming losses, but still grappling with structural cost pressures. In a sector where scale often comes at a price, Network18 seems to be inching towards balance, one quarter at a time.
