MAM
Hitachi gives Bharat Kaushal the top job to power India’s next big leap
MUMBAI: There are power moves, and then there are power-grid-level promotions. In a strategic reshuffle that signals its intent to double down on India, Hitachi Ltd. has elevated Bharat Kaushal to a triple-threat role: Executive chairman, acting managing director of Hitachi India, and corporate officer in charge of regional strategies (India). Effective 1 April 2025, this marks a milestone not just for the company, but for Indian corporate leadership.
The announcement, made on 9 April 2025, cements Kaushal’s place as a central architect of Hitachi’s Indian ambitions. Already the first Indian MD of Hitachi India since FY2017, Kaushal now commands a wider brief to steer the tech giant’s India game plan, from urban mobility to financial inclusion.
“I am truly honored and overwhelmed on the trust and confidence placed upon me in steering the future growth for Hitachi in India… Hitachi India is evolving and offering an unparalleled opportunity to further advance its vision of delivering cutting-edge, sustainable solutions…” etched Kaushal
Kaushal has been no passenger in Hitachi’s Indian journey. Under his watch, the company expanded its presence in energy, infrastructure, healthcare, e-education, and urban mobility, building strong government and public sector alliances.
Now, with India galloping toward its digital destiny, Kaushal’s elevation reads less like succession and more like strategic ignition. As corporate officer in charge of regional strategy, he’ll design Hitachi’s playbook for a market that’s already a tech titan in the making.
And let’s face it—Hitachi is no stranger to Indian soil. It’s been around for over nine decades, partnering in everything from railway tech to rural empowerment. But this move signals a new tempo: local leadership for local impact.
As Kaushal put it, the focus now is on last-mile delivery and solutions that create a “socially empowered society”. That’s not just corporate-speak. That’s policy-aligned, purpose-led growth.
Hitachi is betting that innovation rooted in India, led by Indians, is the secret to not just surviving the future, but building it.
AD Agencies
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.
