MAM
Gautam Adani marks son’s wedding with Rs 10,000 crore donation for social causes
Billionaire industrialist, Gautam Adani has stayed true to his commitment of hosting a simple and traditional wedding for his son, Jeet Adani. Contrary to speculation about a grand celebration, the wedding was understated, aligning with Gautam’s earlier remarks at the Maha Kumbh Mela last month.
Marking the occasion with an extraordinary gesture, Adani has donated Rs 10,000 crore towards various social causes. Sources close to him reveal that his philanthropic priorities align with his guiding philosophy: ‘Seva sadhana hai, seva prarthana hai, aur seva hi parmatma hai’ (Service is devotion, service is prayer, and service is the ultimate divinity).
A significant portion of the donation will be directed towards infrastructure development in healthcare, education, and skill enhancement. The funds are expected to support world-class yet affordable hospitals, medical colleges, K-12 schools, and global skill academies, ensuring access to high-quality education and employment opportunities across all sections of society.
Jeet, son of billionaire industrialist Gautam, tied the knot with Diva, daughter of diamond trader Jaimin Shah, in an intimate ceremony at the Belvedere Club in Ahmedabad’s Adani Shantigram township. The wedding, held this afternoon, was a private affair attended only by close family and friends. Notably absent were politicians, business leaders, diplomats, film stars, and other high-profile figures.
In a heartfelt gesture, Gautam referred to his daughter-in-law as his ‘daughter diva’ in a social media post. His emphasis on simplicity was consistent with his earlier remarks at the Maha Kumbh Mela, where he dismissed speculation of a grand affair, stating, “We are like common people. Jeet came here to take Ma Ganga’s blessings. His marriage will happen in a simple and traditional way.”
Two days before the wedding, Gautam launched Mangal Seva, an initiative to support newly married women with disabilities. Under this programme, 500 women will receive Rs 10 lakh each annually. To mark the launch, Jeet personally met 21 newly married divyang women and their husbands.
Through his Rs 10,000 crore donation and his commitment to social impact, Gautam has redefined personal celebrations, choosing ‘Seva Over Self’. His approach underscores a shift towards meaningful philanthropy, prioritising societal well-being over lavish displays of wealth. NDTV is majority-owned by the Adani Group, which acquired a 64.71 per cent stake in December 2022 through its subsidiary AMG Media Networks.
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Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
