Digital
Content India 2026 confirms dates and opens registrations
MUMBAI: Following the success of the Content India Summit in April 2025, registrations are now open for its first three-day edition, set to take place from 16-18 March, 2026, at Taj Lands End, Mumbai.
Content India 2026 aims to connect India’s domestic market with international partners to unlock billions in untapped value. Building on the momentum from earlier this year, Content India 2026 is set to be a dynamic platform for cross-border partnerships in the content space. The three-day event will feature panel discussions, a marketplace for domestic and international content, special screenings, curated networking sessions, and more. It aligns with insights from The Future of the Indian Entertainment Business report, which highlights major growth potential in content sales, acquisitions, co-productions, and services in this new era of collaboration.
The announcement coincides with a major geopolitical milestone: the signing of a landmark trade agreement between India and the UK, expected to boost bilateral trade by an additional £25.5 billion annually by 2040. This lends even greater relevance to Content India 2026’s broader ambition of strengthening India’s position as a global content hub through strategic international collaboration.
Content India 2026 is anchored around twelve strategic goals designed to transform India’s entertainment economy. These include creating globally resonant hybrid content, attracting international productions, and showcasing India’s capabilities in AI and post-production. The event will connect the creator economy with legacy media and explore new funding models such as venture capital. It also aims to enable co-productions through a trusted partner network, boost format exports and imports, drive brand partnerships, and highlight global content trends.
By placing a strategic lens on international collaboration and creative synergy, Content India 2026 positions itself as a marquee industry event for stakeholders looking to be part of the next wave of growth and innovation in India’s content economy.
Announcing the dates, C21’s editor-in-chief & managing director David Jenkinson said, “The Content India Summit in April 2025 consolidated the fact that there is real opportunity for the Indian and international market to create new partnerships in a fresh way. Content India 2026 will focus on how to build successful content partnerships which benefit all, and lead to new formats of content that can work locally, but also be a hit on the world stage. Now is the time.”
Dish TV India CEO & executive director Manoj Dobhal added, “India is entering a pivotal phase where content goes beyond entertainment—it represents influence, identity, and economic strength. Content India Summit 2025 offered deep insight into the industry’s evolving aspirations and reaffirmed India’s readiness to lead the next wave of global content innovation. With Content India 2026, we aim to build a purpose-driven platform that champions bold storytelling, connects emerging talent with real opportunity, and turns ambition into impact. Our goal is to foster an inclusive, globally competitive eco-system that empowers both seasoned professionals and the next generation of creators. The potential is immense, and this platform will help unlock it through meaningful collaboration. We welcome all who share this vision for India’s entertainment future to join us.”
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.
