MAM
Prasar Bharati makes just Rs 581 mn from CWG
MUMBAI: Prasar Bharati made Rs 581 million from the Commonwealth Games while it had set itself a target of Rs 1 billion.
The minister of state for information and broadcasting S Jagathrakshakan informed the Lok Sabha on this yesterday.
Doordarshan was not allowed to air advertisements during the closing ceremony of the CWG Games following complaints that there were too many ads during the opening ceremony.
Union Sports Minister MS Gill admitted in the Lok Sabha yesterday that The Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (OC) fell more than 80 per cent short of its revenue target.
While the OC was expected to generate Rs 17.08 billion, it only managed Rs 3.27 billion. On the other hand, the OC got more money from the government than originally expected, with its expenditure overshooting its budget by Rs 6.38 billion.
The revenue came in from three sources. The sale of tickets generated Rs 391.7 million. While the contracted value of sponsorship was Rs 3.75 billion, less than a third of that sum was realised, with just Rs 1.14 billion coming in so far.
Similarly, only Rs 1.74 billion has been received for the sale of the international television rights, against the contracted value of Rs 2.13 billion. That does not include the Rs.230 million withheld as tax deducted at source from the payments of Network Ten in Australia.
The number of visitors to the Games also fell short of the goal. While the OC had estimated 100,000 visitors and 8,000 participants, the actual numbers were lower.
The number of foreign tourist arrivals in Delhi in the first two weeks of October — not all of whom were necessarily in the city for Games-related tourism — was 75,606. The total number of participants was 6,572.
MUMBAI: In India’s fast-moving payments race, Visa has just swiped in a new leader. The company has named Suresh Sethi as its India country head, marking a key leadership shift as it sharpens its focus on digital payments growth in the market. Sethi steps into the role following his recent exit from Protean eGov Technologies, where he served as chief executive officer. He succeeds Sandeep Ghosh, who has moved on after more than four years at Visa to pursue an external opportunity.
The appointment comes at a time when Visa is doubling down on its expansion strategy across India and the wider region, deepening partnerships and accelerating adoption in an increasingly competitive digital payments ecosystem.
Sethi brings with him a broad, cross-market perspective shaped by decades of experience across corporate banking, retail financial services, mobile money and large-scale government technology initiatives. He began his career at Citigroup, where he spent 14 years working across India, Africa, South America and the United States, focusing on transaction banking services within the corporate bank.
His appointment signals a blend of institutional experience and market familiarity qualities that could prove critical as Visa navigates a landscape where fintech innovation, regulatory evolution and consumer adoption are all accelerating at once.
As digital payments in India continue to scale rapidly, the leadership change underscores a simple reality, in a market where every tap, scan and swipe counts, who leads the charge can matter just as much as the technology itself.
