MAM
How Nero India successfully revived Indian craftsmanship on their journey
Mumbai: Rishika Jain and Sambhav Jain embarked on a transformative journey that began with a passion for preserving and promoting traditional Indian craftsmanship inspired by the purity of nature and fluidity of water, their brand, Nero India, was born. Their vision is to revive age-old artisanal techniques while infusing them with modern aesthetics, creating an unparalleled experience for its patrons.
Rishika and Sambhav recognized the immense talent and skill possessed by Indian artisans, which often went unnoticed in a rapidly modernizing world. They saw an opportunity to bridge the gap between tradition, modernity, and sustainability by infusing contemporary design elements with sustainable age-old techniques. Nero India aimed not only to revive dying crafts but also to make them relevant in today’s market. Nero’s mastery is evident in its adept fusion of hand-block prints with solid panels, a technique that creates mesmerizing contrasts and captivates the eye with its visual allure. The intricate Zari embroidery on an expansive range of fabrics, including Organza, Chanderi, Tissue, Velvet, and Cotton ensures versatility and luxury in every piece.
The founders embarked on a mission to empower local artisans, providing them with a platform to showcase their craftsmanship to a global audience. By leveraging e-commerce platforms and social media, they were able to reach customers beyond geographical boundaries. Key to their success was their ability to adapt traditional techniques to contemporary tastes. Nero India stands as a testament to their vision, offering a harmonious blend of tradition and trendsetting innovation, akin to a true work of art that resonates with fashion enthusiasts worldwide.
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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.
