MAM
Communications veteran moves to realise Value 360’s growth ambitions
NEW DELHI: Abhishek Dikshit, a communications specialist with over 20 years of experience crafting narratives for global brands, has joined Value 360 as vice-president. The appointment signals the PR firm’s intent to accelerate its evolution from challenger to trusted partner in India’s competitive communications landscape.
Dikshit arrives from Kaizzen, where he spent four years as associate vice-president leading campaigns for healthcare, IT, energy and infrastructure clients. His portfolio included high-profile mandates for CMRI Hospital, Cairn Energy, FabIndia and BM Birla, among others.
The new hire brings particular expertise in crisis management—a skill that earned his previous firm PR Professionals two golds. His crisis communication blueprint helped clients navigate reputational challenges whilst maintaining stakeholder trust.
Before his agency stint, Dikshit spent over four years at Amway India, where he led corporate communications across north India. His CSR initiatives there earned him the company’s regional trophy for three consecutive years and a spot representing India at Amway’s global CSR summit in Michigan in 2013.
His career spans blue-chip clients including Google, Intel, Volkswagen, Canon and TataSky. At 20:20 Media, he orchestrated regional campaigns across 10 states, amplifying brand visibility for technology and automotive brands in tier-one and emerging markets.
The appointment comes as Value 360 seeks to capitalise on India’s growing demand for strategic communications. The firm, led by Kunal Kishore, Gaurav Patra and Manisha Chaudhary, has built its reputation on what it calls a “will do” culture—emphasising execution over promises.
Dikshit holds a postgraduate diploma in mass communication from Jaipuria Institute of Management and is certified in digital marketing. His approach combines traditional storytelling with data-driven strategy, tailored for diverse audience ecosystems across traditional, digital and owned media platforms.
“In a world full of noise, the power of communication lies in crafting clarity that connects,” Dikshit said, outlining his philosophy as he settles into his new role.
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.
