Digital
Bright Outdoor posts double-digit profit growth as digital billboards drive demand
MUMBAI: Bright Outdoor Media Limited reported a 10 per cent jump in net profit to Rs 10.08 crore for the first half of fiscal 2026, propelled by booming demand from real estate, entertainment and FMCG clients scrambling for digital billboard space.
The Mumbai-based firm, which operates 50 large-format digital LED billboards across the city, saw total revenue climb nearly 10 per cent to Rs 63.31 crore in the six months to September. EBITDA rose faster still—up 14 per cent to Rs 14.98 crore—as the company’s shift towards higher-margin digital inventory paid off. Net profit margin held steady at 16 per cent.
Bright added 12,000 square feet of advertising space during the period, taking its total footprint to 315,000 square feet across 490 prime display units nationwide. The expansion included exclusive advertising rights on high-traffic transit projects such as the Navi Mumbai Metro and Western Railways.
Charman and managing director Yogesh Lakhani attributed the performance to “strategic digitisation” and partnerships with marquee events including Filmfare awards and ABP Network’s India @2047 Summit. The 45-year-old company maintains a zero-debt balance sheet—a rarity in capital-intensive outdoor advertising.
Bright has now launched Bright 360° Media Solutions, bundling out-of-home advertising with digital, print, radio, PR and influencer campaigns.
Chief executive Mukesh Sharma promises “a full calendar of marquee events” to deepen client engagement and crack open new revenue streams.
India’s first listed outdoor media company, which debuted on the BSE SME platform in March 2023, remains bullish on the second half. With digital out-of-home spending surging and transit advertising booming, Bright is betting its luminous screens will keep the cash registers ringing.
Digital
Ethical AI must benefit society, not dominate it, says WFEB chief Sanjay Pradhan at IAA event
At Mumbai event, ethics expert urges businesses and governments to shape AI responsibly
MUMBAI: Artificial intelligence may be racing ahead at lightning speed, but its direction must still be guided by human conscience. That was the central message delivered by Sanjay Pradhan, president of the World Forum for Ethics in Business (WFEB), during the latest edition of IAA Conversations held in Mumbai.
The session was organised by the International Advertising Association (IAA) and the Artificial Intelligence Association of India (AIAI) in association with The Free Press Journal at the Free Press House on 7 March. Addressing a packed audience, Pradhan called for stronger ethical leadership to ensure AI remains a tool that benefits humanity rather than one that governs it.
“Artificial intelligence has rapidly become one of the most powerful technologies humanity has created,” Pradhan said. “It is unlocking breakthroughs in medicine, science and creativity at a pace unimaginable just a few years ago.”
But he warned that the same technology carries serious risks. AI, he noted, can amplify disinformation faster than facts can travel, compromise privacy, deepen discrimination and disrupt millions of livelihoods. Referencing concerns raised by AI pioneers such as Geoffrey Hinton, often called the godfather of AI, Pradhan stressed that the real challenge is not whether AI will shape the world, but whether humans will shape it with ethics and wisdom.
Structuring his talk around four guiding questions, why, what, how and who, Pradhan introduced the audience to WFEB’s emerging AI Ethics Partnership, a global platform aimed at advancing responsible artificial intelligence. He outlined four priority concerns that demand urgent attention: disinformation, bias and discrimination, data privacy and job security.
To make the idea of ethical AI easier to grasp, Pradhan offered a simple metaphor. Ethical AI, he said, is like a three layered cake. The outer layer represents the visible value ethical AI creates for businesses and society. The middle layer is organisational culture that moves ethics from written codes to everyday practice. The innermost layer, however, is the most crucial, the conscience of individual leaders.
Drawing from Indian philosophical thought through WFEB co-founder Ravi Shankar, Pradhan noted that while artificial intelligence can reproduce stored knowledge, true intelligence is boundless and rooted in conscience, creativity and compassion. Practices such as breathwork and meditation, he suggested, can help leaders develop the calm clarity needed for ethical decision making.
The event also featured a discussion with Maninder Adityaraj Singh, chief of staff and head of innovation at Rediffusion Brand Solutions Pvt Ltd, and Yash Johri, lawyer, Supreme Court of India.
Opening the session, IAA India chapter president Abhishek Karnani, highlighted the need for industries to understand and engage with AI responsibly.
“AI has to be befriended and understood,” added Rediffusion managing director and AIAI national convenor Sandeep Goyal. “Its ethical use will determine whether it becomes a friend or a foe.”
As AI continues to reshape industries and societies, Pradhan ended with a simple but powerful call to action. Businesses, governments and individuals must work together to ensure that the algorithms shaping the future reflect human values rather than just cold logic.
