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Mudra’s Kidstuff Promos & Events appoints Jai De Costa as president
MUMBAI: Mudra’s promotional marketing firm, Kidstuff Promos and Events has roped in Jai De Costa as president.
He will work closely with Kidstuff’s founder and CEO Pankaj Wadhwa and the senior Mudra Group management team in driving Kidstuff’s growth agenda.
Mudra Marketing Services CEO R. Lakshminarayanan said, “Jai is a critical addition to our senior management team- a response to the Mudra Group’s growth. Clients are increasingly focusing on activation competencies, the business is growing and it’s great to have talent of Jai’s quality to lead our offering in this space. I wish him all the very best!”
Announcing Jai’s appointment Wadhwa said, “We are delighted to announce the addition of Jai to our team. Kidstuff has done some great work for our clients over the years and we will look to Jai to add a great deal of value to our services.”
De Costa said, “The growth in activation and promotions business has been meteoric over the last few years. The business is poised similar to say what retail was a couple of years ago. A large number of professionals are joining this industry and if you’re interested in this space Kidstuff is the place to be.”
De Costa moves from Tata Sky Ltd where he was responsible for the pay per view and games business. Prior to this, he spent four years at Bennett Coleman and Co., responsible for business development and strategy for the events and outdoor business and then in the new private treaties business.
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India’s employability gap persists despite strong hiring intent
Only 1 in 5 institutions achieve 76 to 100 per cent placements within six months of graduation.
MUMBAI: India’s young workforce is ready in numbers, but the real question is whether they are ready for work and senior leaders from industry, academia and policy gathered in Delhi to find practical answers. A closed-door roundtable hosted by Vaishali Nigam Sinha, co-founder of Renew, brought together key voices to discuss actionable solutions for bridging the persistent employability gap. The session highlighted that while job opportunities are expanding, the alignment between education and industry needs remains a critical challenge.
According to Teamlease EdTech’s Career Outlook Report HY1 2026, 73 per cent of employers plan to hire freshers in the first half of 2026, signalling steady recovery in entry-level hiring. However, employers are shifting focus from mere qualifications to demonstrable capability, placing greater value on internships, live projects and proof-of-work.
Teamlease Edtech, founder and CEO Shantanu Rooj emphasised the need for better alignment, “India’s employability challenge is no longer about access alone, but about alignment between education and work. Employers are increasingly relying on demonstrable capability such as internships, projects, and applied learning as indicators of readiness.”
Vaishali Nigam Sinha stressed the importance of execution over intent, “India has both the talent and the opportunity. What is needed now is alignment. We have to move from intent to execution by embedding employability into the system itself.”
Other prominent speakers included Dr Chenraj Roychand, Chancellor of Jain (Deemed-to-be) University, who called for universities to evolve from degree providers to ecosystem enablers, Prof M. Jagadesh Kumar, Chairman of the Board of Governors at IIM Calcutta, who highlighted the need for flexibility and multidisciplinary learning, and Dr T.N. Singh, Director of IIT Patna, who advocated deeper industry engagement through research and experiential learning.
The discussion also drew insights from the book Accelerating Impact. Enabling Dreams – Making India Employable by Shantanu Rooj and co-authors, which features contributions from leaders like Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Dr Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan and Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
During the event, Teamlease Edtech Foundation launched Project SEED, a national initiative aimed at bridging the education-employability gap for underserved youth. The project focuses on early intervention at the school level to guide students towards informed career choices and work-integrated pathways.
With only 16.67 per cent (1 in 5) of institutions achieving 76–100 per cent placements within six months of graduation, the conversation made one thing clear, India’s demographic dividend will deliver real value only when education and employability walk hand in hand. The gathering served as a timely reminder that the future of India’s workforce depends not just on creating more jobs, but on preparing young people far better to seize them.
