iWorld
NH7 Weekender Pune adds powerhouse comedy lineup
IconiQ White edition from March 13–15 features 10 plus stand-ups alongside music headliners
MUMBAI: Pune’s happiest music fest just doubled down on laughs because when the beats drop and the punchlines land, even the crowd’s too busy giggling to notice the bass. The Iconiq White NH7 Weekender returns to Mahalakshmi Lawns, Pune from March 13 to 15, 2026, and this time the festival isn’t just serving earworms, it’s delivering full-blown comedy chaos between sets. Organisers have stacked a formidable stand-up lineup to keep the energy roaring when artists like Talwiinder, Prateek Kuhad, Raftaar x KR$NA, KING, Nucleya & Friends and Indian Ocean take breaks.
Top billing goes to 10 comedians festivalgoers won’t want to miss:
- Aaditya Kulshreshth (Kullu) – relatable middle-class & college nostalgia king
- Rohan Joshi – sharp pop-culture wit from the AIB days
- Urooj Ashfaq – deadpan delivery and offbeat brilliance
- Madhur Virli – quirky personal storytelling that hits home
- Sonali Thakker – fresh takes on relationships and everyday awkwardness
- Varun Thakur – high-energy “Vicky Malhotra” persona
- Rahul Subramanian – clean observational humour with viral crowd work
- Shreeja Chaturvedi – clever, dry wit and smart punchlines
- Sahil Shah – geek-culture humour and electric stage presence
- Fatima Ayesha – confident, sharp observations on life and culture
Additional acts include Anish Goregaonkar, Daahab Chishti, Rajat Sood, Supriya Joshi, Sumaira Shaikh, Urjita Wani, Kaustubh Agarwal’s Akal Ke Ghode, and Kumar Varun’s interactive comedy-quiz format Kvizzing.
The comedy stage joins a music lineup that promises sing-along anthems and high-octane sets, turning the three-day festival into a full-spectrum entertainment escape where the laughs hit as hard as the drops.
In a country where festivals already feel like organised chaos, NH7 Pune is making sure the only thing louder than the speakers is the roar from the comedy tent.
iWorld
OneOTT partners with UP govt for Project GANGA broadband rollout
Initiative to connect 2M plus households, empower 8,000–10,000 entrepreneurs in 2–3 years.
MUMBAI: Uttar Pradesh just got a digital Ganga flow because when broadband meets ambition, even villages start streaming faster than city traffic. OneOTT Intertainment Ltd. (OIL), the broadband arm of Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS) under the Hinduja Group, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the State Transformation Commission (STC), Government of Uttar Pradesh, for Project GANGA (Government Assisted Network for Growth & Advancement).
The MoU, signed on 7 March 2026 in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Finance & Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna, aims to empower 8,000–10,000 local entrepreneurs at the Nyaya Panchayat level as independent Digital Service Providers (DSPs). A significant number of these DSPs are expected to be women. The initiative will deliver high-speed broadband to over 2 million households in the next 2–3 years and create direct and indirect employment for more than 100,000 individuals.
Project GANGA will support government priorities in digital education, healthcare and public services while enabling MSMEs and enterprises with reliable connectivity. DSPs will receive structured training, financing assistance, network build-out support and technology enablement.
STC CEO Manoj Kumar Singh said, “Project GANGA is a significant step toward expanding inclusive digital infrastructure in Uttar Pradesh. By empowering local entrepreneurs, the program will strengthen service delivery and ensure affordable digital access for underserved communities.”
OIL, MD & CEO and HGS whole-time director Vynsley Fernandes added, “This initiative reflects our long-term commitment to enabling digital access and economic opportunity at scale. Project GANGA is structured as a multi-year program focused on entrepreneur onboarding, network deployment and workforce development.”
OIL brings execution strength backed by HGS and NXTDIGITAL’s national footprint, which already connects over 5 million homes across more than 4,500 pin codes in 1,500 cities and towns through 15,000 plus franchise partners and over 2 lakh kilometres of fibre infrastructure. The ecosystem will support broadband, IPTV, OTT, CCTV, satellite internet and cybersecurity solutions for households, businesses and public institutions.
In a state racing toward digital inclusion, Project GANGA isn’t just laying cables, it’s laying the foundation for millions to connect, learn, heal and earn, one Nyaya Panchayat at a time.
