MAM
OML Entertainment launches comedy festival – The Circuit
MUMBAI: – Comedy’s never been taken this seriously before. OML Entertainment Pvt Ltd, the creators of India’s decade-old and much-loved Happiest Music Festival- Bacardi NH7 Weekender, have announced the first edition of a massive comedy festival called The Circuit. From March 7-15, the festival will travel to Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.
The lineup for all three cities is out, with all shows for Delhi and Bangalore being live, and part of the Mumbai calendar of shows being out. With a mixture of smaller club shows and auditorium shows, the festival is designed to offer innovative and unique experiences to audiences who enjoy comedy with stand-up comedy in various forms – specially curated lineups, women’s showcases, LGBTQ shows, regional comedy with shows being released for Marathi and Malayalam shows as well as formats such as debates, quizzing, various comedy games and much more. The lineup features over 100 comedians from across the country – for a variety of shows both big and small, with interesting lineups sure to appeal to a wide range of people, including comedians like Aakash Gupta, Rohan Joshi, Radhika Vaz, Tanmay Bhat, Anu Menon, Saikiran, Urjita Wani, Zakir Khan and more.
After kicking off in Delhi and Bangalore on March 7-8, the festival will run in Mumbai from March 11-15. After a packed calendar of shows from March 11-14, the festival will conclude with a grand finale – The Festival Circuit – in Jio Garden on March 15. This event will see a series of different performances by a strong lineup of over 20 comedians, and will be an all day outdoor event with comedy fans getting a taste of various types and formats of comedy. With just one ticket, the audience can see 5 different shows at the grand finale of the festival.
“As OML, we've had the opportunity to work with some of the most talented comedians from around the country and abroad. The Circuit is our celebration of the versatility of the genre and the messages it can hold. It will not only bring together a diverse range of shows from comics to sketch troupes, debates and game formats – but also venues, partners and artists that make the landscape as vibrant as it is. We're proud to be working with curators who have pulled together a great lineup ranging from regional comedy to unique ideas such as roast battles and comedy tag team, making sure there's something for every comedy fan” said OML Entertainment CEO Gunjan Arya.
OML worked with specific comedy curators to program the festival who brought together new formats of comedy to give a varied experience across venues, comedian styles and cities to put together a festival that distinguishes The Circuit from other comedy events in the country. Rohan Desai said, “We are very excited to be curating this festival that will feature a wide variety of concept shows which will be a unique one-time experience. The jokes and performances you see in these shows will never be repeated again.” Shreemayee Das added, “A few of the concept shows will actually be happening in tournament style – like a cricket world cup. So it will be very interesting to follow the progress of different teams and see which comedians will win the finals.” Reuben Kaduskar said, “This was a very exciting opportunity, because I got the chance to collaborate with artists from all over the country, and from an audience perspective, it's perfect because they get to see some of the best talent all at one place. Other than the game shows, what's unique about this festival is that a lot of the comedians are doing their brand new one hour solo shows for the first time ever.”
Four different show types are on the cards to give different sorts of comedy experience to the . The Club Circuit will have intimate venues with curated programming. The Theatre Circuit will have bigger showcases with a diverse lineup of different comedians performing to bigger audiences. Circuit X shows will have exclusive showcases. The Festival Circuit will see an all day outdoor event at Jio Garden on March 15.
MAM
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.
