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Second digital India summit to be launched by Times Network
MUMBAI: In a bid to help speed up the transition to a vibrantly Digital India, Times Networkannounced the launch of the Second Digital India Summit (SDIS). The Network claims that the summit will lead the country on the path to digitalization by providing the leaders and digital evangelists a platform to ideate on important areas and issues, and also by recognizing and honouring individuals, businesses and organizations that are harnessing the power of information, communication and technology and digital tools.
SDIS will be telecast on Times Now and ET Now. The summit will get under way on 22 March 2016, with a day-long event in New Delhi, which will begin with a keynote address from the union minister of communications and information technology, Ravi Shankar. The session will be addressed by Dell’s Asia Pacific and Japan president Amit Midha and Dell emerging markets chairman.
Times Network managing director and CEO M K Anand said, “India is surging ahead on the path of progress, powered by young, creative, digitally-savvy people and a strong government emphasis on the best use of information, communication and technology to usher in digitization across cities and platforms. As the nation’s most influential network with the biggest English and business news channels that inform and empower viewers, Times Network is proud to announce the second digital India summit. Our goal is to contribute to transforming India into a global economic superpower over the next decade, and we are confident that the second digital India summit will create a significant positive impact.”
The day will conclude with the Digital India Summit awards being given out to those leaders whose efforts and initiatives have contributed the most to the Digital India Summit’s primary objectives to help India on the path to transform business processes, improve delivery of public services and thereby to create a positive impact on society. SDIS works to identify and honour the top individual torchbearers harnessing the power of ICT and digital.
To promote SDIS, Times Network says that it will run and exhaustive high-decibel call-for-entries campaign to invite participation from businesses and organizations that are harnessing the power of technology and transforming businesses and lives of people. The entire process, from call for entries to the selection and short listing process, through an eminent jury meet, and finally, the winners’ announcement and felicitation on the awards night, will flow across a month.
The awards are divided into two parts, Good For India and Good For Organizations.
While the Good For India awards recognize the initiatives taken by stakeholders towards the accomplishment of the digital India dream, on other hand the Good for Organizations awards will recognize organizations that have made the first move towards digital India by using ICT in integrating people, processes and data to achieve business transformation and growth.
Good for India has seven categories – e-governance solutions, e-education learning solutions, e- healthcare delivery solutions, skills and employment solutions, energy solutions, environmental solutions and agricultural solutions. Good for organizations has four categories under digital enterprise which are manufacturing, services, digital start-up innovators and digital social innovation.
Supporting the event are the lead and award partner Huwaei, lead partners GTL Infrastructure and Union Bank of India, knowledge partner MAIT and Tech 4 good partner NASSCOM foundation.
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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.
