MAM
PM Modi to be tourism mascot; ad agency screening under way
MUMBAI: The leader is the natural ambassador. Why would there be any need to create a brand or national identity from celebrities/socialites? The nationalist is India’s most well-known face.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to be the mascot of the Incredible India campaign with the Tourism Ministry deciding to finally drop plans to bring in any Bollywood stars, including Amitabh Bachchan, for the role which was vacant after ouster of Aamir Khan earlier this year.
Earlier, names of leading stars Amitabh Bachchan and actress Priyanka Chopra were doing rounds for the campaign aimed at promoting India as a favourite tourist destination abroad.
No Bollywood actor will now be engaged for the campaign targeted at attracting foreign travellers. Video footages of Modi during the last two-and-a-half years where he has talked about tourism in India and abroad will be utilised for the campaign, a senior ministry official told PTI.
The ministry is planning to use — for audio and radio release — two types of communications of different durations where Modi had talked about the uniqueness and diversity of the various places in the country, the official said.
The ministry is presently “working on selecting the footages”, the official said, adding that the campaign would be released in the next 40-45 days as the Indian tourism season starts by November-end due to favourable weather as also the Christmas holidays and New Year celebrations.
The official said the process of selecting the agency, which will carry out the task of running the campaign, is also under the process.
Earlier, the tourism minister Mahesh Sharma had endorsed Modi’s persona for the role, saying he is the “best face” to promote the Incredible India campaign. He had asserted that the country has witnessed a jump in the tourists inflow from the countries the prime minister had visited. He had said that the ministry need not have any Bollywood face for the campaign.
Sharma said that the perception about India had changed significantly in the last two years with Prime Minister Modi visiting a host of countries during the period. So, who else could be the better face for Indian tourism than the Prime Minister, he added.
A senior ministry official, supporting Sharma’s remarks, said the tourist inflow from countries such as the Australia, the UK, the US, Germany, Fiji, Brazil, Canada and Myanmar, among other, had witnessed a significant jump after the PM’s visit there.
Though it was believed that Khan was eased out for his remarks on perceived intolerance, the ministry had maintained that he was not hired as the contract with the advertising agency had expired.
MAM
Beacon Group appoints Dr Rajesh Patel as Group CEO
36-year healthcare veteran to lead Beacon Diagnostics, Vector Biotek, Biogeny.
MUMBAI: A new chief, a fresh diagnosis and a sharper prescription for growth. Beacon Group has appointed Dr Rajesh Patel as its Group Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1, 2026, signalling a decisive push to scale its presence in the diagnostics and IVD space. Patel steps into the role with 36 years of experience across the healthcare and diagnostics industry, bringing a career shaped by leadership roles spanning sales, marketing, business development and operational strategy. His mandate is both expansive and precise: to steer the group’s overall strategic direction while tightening coordination across its three core entities Beacon Diagnostics, Vector Biotek and Biogeny Diagnostics.
In practical terms, that means driving cross-company synergies, accelerating market expansion and strengthening organisational capability areas increasingly critical as diagnostic players compete for scale in a fragmented yet rapidly evolving healthcare ecosystem. The group is positioning itself to capture unmet demand across chain laboratories, key accounts and standalone labs, segments that remain underserved despite growing diagnostic needs.
The appointment comes at a time when the In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) sector in India is entering a more competitive and innovation-led phase, with companies focusing not just on product pipelines but also on service delivery, integration and customer-centric models. Beacon’s leadership appears to be betting that Patel’s execution-focused approach can help translate ambition into operational momentum.
Welcoming the appointment, Chairman Dr D K Joshi described Patel’s induction as a strategic move aligned with the group’s long-term vision, emphasising the role of leadership depth in navigating the next phase of growth.
For Beacon Group, the message is clear, in a sector where precision matters, leadership is the new differentiator—and this appointment is intended to set the tone for what comes next.
