MAM
Times bridge and Malaria no more announce partnership to help end malaria in india
MUMBAI: Times Bridge, the global investments and partnerships arm of The Times Group of India, today announced a strategic partnership with Malaria No More, a leading, global non-profit organization whose mission is to ensure no one dies from a mosquito bite. This partnership with Times Bridge will build on Malaria No More's recent momentum in support of India’s malaria elimination goal and add capacities – particularly as it relates to building coalitions of influencers, strengthening policy advocacy, and producing and distributing regionally adapted, multi-media content- to elevate the issue on the national agenda.
Established in 2006 by business leaders Peter Chernin and Raymond G. Chambers, Malaria No More works with governments, non-government organizations, communities and the private sector to mobilize the political commitment, funding, and innovation required to end malaria within our generation. As part of the partnership, Times Bridge will rally national and regional influencers from across many subsets of Indian culture to advance mass awareness, promote progress amongst government decision makers, and popularize actions and behaviors individuals must take to protect themselves, their families, and communities from malaria. Drawing on the vast storytelling resources of The Times Group, Times Bridge will also lead the production and distribution of actionable, cross-platform media, including optimization for mobile/digital contexts, that informs and engages at-risk populations in key regions of the country regarding the disease, while also giving a wider swath of Indians an opportunity to take action in support of the campaign.
The partnership will build on Malaria No More’s innovative work with the central government and the government of Odisha, where malaria cases declined by more than 80% in the last year. These efforts are critical steps toward achieving a Malaria Free India by 2030, a vision Indian Prime Minister Modi set forth at 2015’s East Asia Summit in Malaysia. Among Malaria No More’s Board members are prominent Indian leaders including Walt Disney Asia Pacific President Uday Shankar, former Fortune 500 CEO Surya Mohapatra, and Former US Ambassador to India, Richard Verma.
Commenting on this partnership, Rishi Jaitly, CEO of Times Bridge and Member of Malaria No More’s India Advisory Board, said, “Times Bridge’s mission is to bring the world’s best ideas to India and share India’s best insights with the world. Malaria No More is a bold, original idea, founded and led by some of the world’s most accomplished social entrepreneurs, with real results to speak of in many countries, including India. We at Times Bridge are honored to bring to bear our resources to advance Malaria No More’s critical elimination mission in India.”
Martin Edlund, CEO of Malaria No More, said, “India is key to humanity’s ambition to eliminate the disease. It was true for smallpox and polio, and it will be true for malaria. But we can only accomplish this goal if we work hand-in-hand with India’s most entrepreneurial companies and inspire the public to take up this historic challenge. Times Bridge has an unmatched record of bringing innovations to India and shaping consumer culture. We’re convinced they’ll be transformative in helping India to end mankind’s oldest, deadliest disease.”
According to the World Health Organization’s World Malaria Report 2018, more than half of the malaria-affected world is within reach of elimination. There remains significant work to be done, however, as cases increased in 10 of the 11 highest-burden countries. India was the only one among the highest burden countries to reduce malaria cases, registering a historic 24% decrease in malaria cases.
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.
