MAM
BCCI hands Tata WPL 2026 ceremonies to Laqshya Media
MUMBAI: Cricket’s newest queens are getting the royal treatment. Fresh from conquering the world, India’s women cricketers return home to find their domestic league transformed into something between a festival and a fortress of celebration. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has handed Laqshya Media Group the keys to the Tata Women’s Premier League 2026 (WPL 2026) , tasking the advertising outfit with turning 22 matches into 22 reasons to party.
This is no ordinary season. The tournament marks India’s first major cricketing event since the women’s team lifted the ICC Women’s World Cup in 2025. Laqshya, which has been making noise in the out-of-home advertising world since 1997, plans to ensure that victory echoes through every stadium and street corner in the country.
The opening ceremony features Jacqueline Fernandez. The closing bash belongs to Yo Yo Honey Singh. In between, expect drone shows, laser arrays, live brass bands and mid-innings concerts at every single match. Laqshya calls it “high-frequency engagement”. Others might call it sensory overload, but it beats the usual stadium muzak.
Beyond the boundaries, Laqshya is plastering cities, state capitals and airports with WPL branding. The aim? Drag women’s cricket out of the sports pages and into daily life, where young women might actually see themselves in the game.
“India is a country where sport is not just watched; it is deeply felt,” says Laqshya Media group chairman and managing director Alok Jalan. He promises “meaningful, scalable sporting experiences” that will outlast this season. Whether India’s appetite for cricket spectacle can match its appetite for cricket remains to be seen.
For now, the world champions are coming home. And someone’s rolled out a very large, very loud red carpet.
MAM
Beacon Group appoints Dr Rajesh Patel as Group CEO
36-year healthcare veteran to lead Beacon Diagnostics, Vector Biotek, Biogeny.
MUMBAI: A new chief, a fresh diagnosis and a sharper prescription for growth. Beacon Group has appointed Dr Rajesh Patel as its Group Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1, 2026, signalling a decisive push to scale its presence in the diagnostics and IVD space. Patel steps into the role with 36 years of experience across the healthcare and diagnostics industry, bringing a career shaped by leadership roles spanning sales, marketing, business development and operational strategy. His mandate is both expansive and precise: to steer the group’s overall strategic direction while tightening coordination across its three core entities Beacon Diagnostics, Vector Biotek and Biogeny Diagnostics.
In practical terms, that means driving cross-company synergies, accelerating market expansion and strengthening organisational capability areas increasingly critical as diagnostic players compete for scale in a fragmented yet rapidly evolving healthcare ecosystem. The group is positioning itself to capture unmet demand across chain laboratories, key accounts and standalone labs, segments that remain underserved despite growing diagnostic needs.
The appointment comes at a time when the In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) sector in India is entering a more competitive and innovation-led phase, with companies focusing not just on product pipelines but also on service delivery, integration and customer-centric models. Beacon’s leadership appears to be betting that Patel’s execution-focused approach can help translate ambition into operational momentum.
Welcoming the appointment, Chairman Dr D K Joshi described Patel’s induction as a strategic move aligned with the group’s long-term vision, emphasising the role of leadership depth in navigating the next phase of growth.
For Beacon Group, the message is clear, in a sector where precision matters, leadership is the new differentiator—and this appointment is intended to set the tone for what comes next.
