MAM
Rashmi Bansal pens India’s givers’ guide
MUMBAI: Give and let live. That’s the mantra driving Live to Give, author and entrepreneur Rashmi Bansal’s latest book that celebrates India’s new-age philanthropists turning prosperity into purpose.
Launched in Delhi in partnership with Accelerate Indian Philanthropy (AIP), the book captures the journeys of 16 visionaries who are redefining giving, from business magnates to healthcare pioneers and family foundations. Among those featured are Ajit Issac, Binny Bansal, Harsh Mariwala, Dr Sunita Maheshwari, Kumari and SD Shibulal, and Rekha Jhunjhunwala, each embodying a unique philosophy of generosity.
Divided into three thoughtful sections: Prana (heart-led giving), Gyaan (strategic philanthropy), and Daan (trust-based giving), the book reveals not just how these leaders give, but why they do. Together, their stories form a powerful narrative of how India’s wealth creators are moving from success to significance.
“Live to Give is not about wealth itself, but what wealth can achieve when guided by purpose,” said Rashmi Bansal at the launch. “True legacy begins when success is shared.”
The book arrives at a time when India’s giving culture is evolving rapidly. With over 350 billionaires and a fast-growing pool of ultra-wealthy individuals, philanthropy is stepping out of the shadows of charity to become a catalyst for change.
The Convergence Foundation founder-CEO and AIP core founder Ashish Dhawan said, “Giving has always been part of India’s DNA. What’s new is the opportunity to make it transformative.”
Backed by Bushfair Publications, Live to Give will see follow-up launches in Mumbai and Bangalore this month, inviting readers to see wealth not as an end, but as a beginning.
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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.
