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Smart City Expo Barcelona: Indian pavilion flagged off
BARCELONA, SPAIN: The Indian pavilion at Smart City Expo 2024 in Barcelona’s famed Fira de Barcelona Gran Via got off to a great start with the Indian ambassador to Spain Dinesh K Patanaik, Indian Consulate counsel general Inbasekar Sundaramurthi and ministry of housing and urban affairs (Mohua) joint secretary Rahul Kapoor flagging it off.
The pavilion has been put up by Mohua which has brought in a large delegation of principal secretaries (Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh), commissioners, smart city CEOs and deputy CEOs, of various Indian cities to expose them to the rapid developments that are taking place in the growth of smart cities in Europe and various parts of the globe.
“We have made great progress as far as our selected 100 smart cities are concerned,” said Kapoor at the opening of the pavilion. “Almost Rs 1.7 lakh crore worth 7,800 plus projects. We have completed 7252 of them or 90 per cent worth Rs 1,45,882 crore and another 790 are ongoing worth Rs 18,875 crore. We are very happy with the outcomes.”
The Indian officials were seen going around the various exhibition booths from all over the world showcasing technologies for e-bikes, charging, data analytics, ride sharing, smart city consulting among many others.
The Smart City Expo 2024 ends on 7 November.
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Paramount set to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in $81 billion deal
Shareholders back merger, combined entity could reshape streaming and studios.
MUMBAI: Lights, camera… consolidation, Hollywood’s latest blockbuster might be happening off-screen. Shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery have voted in favour of selling the company to Paramount in a deal valued at $81 billion rising to nearly $111 billion including debt setting the stage for one of the biggest shake-ups in modern media. The proposed merger, still subject to regulatory approvals, would bring together a vast portfolio spanning HBO Max, CNN, and franchises such as Harry Potter under the same umbrella as Paramount’s own heavyweights, including Top Gun and CBS.
At the heart of the deal is streaming scale. Executives have indicated plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount+ into a single platform, potentially creating a stronger challenger to giants like Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video. Current market data suggests HBO Max holds around 12 per cent of US on-demand subscriptions, compared to Paramount+’s 3 per cent, together still trailing Netflix’s 19 per cent and Disney’s combined 27 per cent via Disney+ and Hulu.
Paramount CEO David Ellison has signalled that while platforms may merge, HBO’s creative identity will remain intact, stating the brand should “stay HBO” even within a broader ecosystem.
Beyond streaming, the deal would redraw the map for film production. Combining two of Hollywood’s oldest studios Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., the new entity aims to scale output to over 30 films annually, while maintaining a 45-day theatrical window. Warner Bros. currently commands around 21 per cent of the US box office, compared to Paramount’s 6 per cent, underscoring the strategic weight of the acquisition.
But scale comes with scrutiny. Critics warn that fewer players could mean reduced consumer choice, rising subscription costs, and potential job cuts as the combined company looks to streamline overlapping operations while managing billions in debt.
The news business, too, faces a reset. CNN would join forces at least structurally with Paramount-owned CBS, raising questions about editorial independence and positioning. The merger has already drawn political attention in the United States, particularly given perceived ties between the Ellison family and Donald Trump, though the company maintains that newsroom autonomy will be preserved.
If approved, the deal would mark another milestone in Hollywood’s consolidation wave shrinking the industry’s traditional “big six” studios to a “big four”, with Paramount joining Disney, Universal, and Sony at the top table.
In an industry built on storytelling, this merger may well become its most consequential plot twist yet.
