MAM
KCorp Charitable Foundation partners with Robin Hood Army for #Mission5 this Independence Day, to serve 5 million people across the country
Mumbai: India’s leading home grown hospitality group K Hospitality’s philanthropic arm KCorp Charitable Foundation, has joined hands with Robin Hood Army, the volunteer-based organisation, for its #Mission5 campaign. The foundation contributed 60,000 kilos of staples including rice, pulses and wheat as a step towards their vision to provide “Food & Nutrition for All” to bring independence from hunger on this Independence Day. Robin Hood Army is a zero-funds organisation that works to serve the surplus food from restaurants and communities, to the less fortunate.
The week-long national effort of #Mission5, which began on Saturday, 10th August will continue till the Independence Day, with an aim to serve 5 million people, across 500 villages with dry food supplies.
Over 40,000 volunteers or “Robins”, across 110 cities will be coming together to serve rations to 5 million needy citizens across villages in India. The campaign will reach out to people across 12 major cities in India including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Bhubaneswar, Ahmedabad, Pune, Thrissur and Vijaywada. In line with KCorp Charitable Foundation’s vision to provide “Food & Nutrition for All”, this bold campaign is a significant step towards creating a positive impact in the lives of people.
Commenting on #Mission5, Sunil Kapur, Chairman, KCorp Charitable Foundation said, “The Robin Hood Army is doing truly inspirational work in driving change and building community participation in the field of hunger and malnutrition. K Corp Charitable Foundation has a vision of ‘Food and Nutrition for All’, and we have been investing and working constantly towards finding ways to reduce malnutrition and hunger in India. This Independence Day we are very excited to be able to partner with the Robin Hood Army and the youth to continue the fight on hunger and malnutrition together, and bring about a multiplier effect in people getting involved in the cause.”
MAM
Paramount set to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in $81 billion deal
Shareholders back merger, combined entity could reshape streaming and studios.
MUMBAI: Lights, camera… consolidation, Hollywood’s latest blockbuster might be happening off-screen. Shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery have voted in favour of selling the company to Paramount in a deal valued at $81 billion rising to nearly $111 billion including debt setting the stage for one of the biggest shake-ups in modern media. The proposed merger, still subject to regulatory approvals, would bring together a vast portfolio spanning HBO Max, CNN, and franchises such as Harry Potter under the same umbrella as Paramount’s own heavyweights, including Top Gun and CBS.
At the heart of the deal is streaming scale. Executives have indicated plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount+ into a single platform, potentially creating a stronger challenger to giants like Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video. Current market data suggests HBO Max holds around 12 per cent of US on-demand subscriptions, compared to Paramount+’s 3 per cent, together still trailing Netflix’s 19 per cent and Disney’s combined 27 per cent via Disney+ and Hulu.
Paramount CEO David Ellison has signalled that while platforms may merge, HBO’s creative identity will remain intact, stating the brand should “stay HBO” even within a broader ecosystem.
Beyond streaming, the deal would redraw the map for film production. Combining two of Hollywood’s oldest studios Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., the new entity aims to scale output to over 30 films annually, while maintaining a 45-day theatrical window. Warner Bros. currently commands around 21 per cent of the US box office, compared to Paramount’s 6 per cent, underscoring the strategic weight of the acquisition.
But scale comes with scrutiny. Critics warn that fewer players could mean reduced consumer choice, rising subscription costs, and potential job cuts as the combined company looks to streamline overlapping operations while managing billions in debt.
The news business, too, faces a reset. CNN would join forces at least structurally with Paramount-owned CBS, raising questions about editorial independence and positioning. The merger has already drawn political attention in the United States, particularly given perceived ties between the Ellison family and Donald Trump, though the company maintains that newsroom autonomy will be preserved.
If approved, the deal would mark another milestone in Hollywood’s consolidation wave shrinking the industry’s traditional “big six” studios to a “big four”, with Paramount joining Disney, Universal, and Sony at the top table.
In an industry built on storytelling, this merger may well become its most consequential plot twist yet.
