MAM
Adani declares victory over Hindenburg storm as profits soar in letter to shareholders
MUMBAI: Gautam Adani has emerged from his regulatory bunker swinging, declaring the Hindenburg Research controversy a “defining inflection point” that strengthened rather than weakened his sprawling business empire.
In a defiant letter to shareholders, the Indian billionaire framed last week’s Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) clearance as complete vindication, proclaiming “truth has prevailed” after nearly two years of scrutiny following the short-seller’s damning January 2023 report.
The Adani Group chairman marshalled impressive financial firepower to support his narrative of resilience. Portfolio EBITDA rocketed from Rs 57,205 crore in FY23 to Rs 89,806 crore in FY25—a staggering 57 per cent absolute growth representing a two-year compound annual growth rate of 25 per cent.
Asset expansion proved equally dramatic, with gross block swelling from Rs 4,12,318 crore to Rs 6,09,133 crore over the same period. That Rs two lakh crore addition marks a 48 per cent surge whilst the group battled accusations of accounting manipulation and stock price inflation.
Adani positioned his conglomerate’s infrastructure achievements as proof of substance over speculation. The group commissioned India’s first container trans shipment port at Vizhinjam, added six gigawatts of renewable capacity including the world’s largest single-location renewable project at Khavda, and completed what it claims is the world’s largest copper smelter.
The rhetoric veered between wounded pride and renewed ambition. Hindenburg’s assault wasn’t merely corporate criticism, Adani argued, but “a direct challenge to the audacity of Indian enterprises to dream on a global scale.” The implication: attacking Adani amounted to attacking India itself.
Looking forward, the chairman promised to “further strengthen governance standards,” “accelerate innovation and sustainability,” and “double down on nation building”—language that suggests the controversy has hardly dented his expansionist appetites.
The letter’s tone reflects broader themes in Indian corporate culture, where business leaders frequently cast commercial success in nationalist terms. For Adani, surviving Hindenburg’s onslaught becomes not just corporate vindication but validation of India’s global ambitions.
Whether Sebi’s clearance truly closes the book on governance questions remains to be seen. But Adani’s defiant missive makes clear he views the storm as survived rather than merely weathered, with ambitious expansion plans intact.
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.
