Digital
Tata Group and OpenAI team up for major AI push in India
TCS partners with ChatGPT maker on enterprise tools, industry solutions, and massive data centre buildout from 100MW to 1GW.
MUMBAI: The 2026 edition of the Tata WPL has rewritten the record books, emerging as the most-watched season ever across digital and television platforms. Royal Challengers Bengaluru clinched their second title on 5 February, while fans tuned in in unprecedented numbers, proving women’s cricket is no longer just a summer fling for audiences.
Digital consumption skyrocketed with a 17 per cent growth in viewers over the 2025 season, and a staggering 69 per cent jump in content consumed. On Connected TV, reach climbed 37 per cent, while the final doubled its viewership compared with last year’s summit clash between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals.
Linear TV ratings also hit new highs, up 29 per cent over the previous edition, with viewers clocking a record 34.5 billion minutes across all screens, marking an 11 per cent increase from last year. The showstopper final between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals became the most-watched women’s T20 game ever, with a 60 per cent rise in consumption. On digital, it doubled its reach, and TV ratings surged by 74 per cent.
JioStar head of sales – sports Anup Govindan said, “Women’s cricket is evolving into a powerhouse of its own. The Tata WPL 2026 has taken this momentum to new heights, showing that fans are not just watching, they are fully invested. With the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup coming up, the sport is set to grow even further.”
Fans have more to look forward to this June as Harmanpreet Kaur’s Women in Blue tour England and Wales chasing India’s first T20 World Cup, following their multi-format series in Australia where they played three T20Is, three ODIs, and one Test.
The WPL has proven that women’s cricket is not just a highlight, it is the headline act.
Digital
Ethical AI must benefit society, not dominate it, says WFEB chief Sanjay Pradhan at IAA event
At Mumbai event, ethics expert urges businesses and governments to shape AI responsibly
MUMBAI: Artificial intelligence may be racing ahead at lightning speed, but its direction must still be guided by human conscience. That was the central message delivered by Sanjay Pradhan, president of the World Forum for Ethics in Business (WFEB), during the latest edition of IAA Conversations held in Mumbai.
The session was organised by the International Advertising Association (IAA) and the Artificial Intelligence Association of India (AIAI) in association with The Free Press Journal at the Free Press House on 7 March. Addressing a packed audience, Pradhan called for stronger ethical leadership to ensure AI remains a tool that benefits humanity rather than one that governs it.
“Artificial intelligence has rapidly become one of the most powerful technologies humanity has created,” Pradhan said. “It is unlocking breakthroughs in medicine, science and creativity at a pace unimaginable just a few years ago.”
But he warned that the same technology carries serious risks. AI, he noted, can amplify disinformation faster than facts can travel, compromise privacy, deepen discrimination and disrupt millions of livelihoods. Referencing concerns raised by AI pioneers such as Geoffrey Hinton, often called the godfather of AI, Pradhan stressed that the real challenge is not whether AI will shape the world, but whether humans will shape it with ethics and wisdom.
Structuring his talk around four guiding questions, why, what, how and who, Pradhan introduced the audience to WFEB’s emerging AI Ethics Partnership, a global platform aimed at advancing responsible artificial intelligence. He outlined four priority concerns that demand urgent attention: disinformation, bias and discrimination, data privacy and job security.
To make the idea of ethical AI easier to grasp, Pradhan offered a simple metaphor. Ethical AI, he said, is like a three layered cake. The outer layer represents the visible value ethical AI creates for businesses and society. The middle layer is organisational culture that moves ethics from written codes to everyday practice. The innermost layer, however, is the most crucial, the conscience of individual leaders.
Drawing from Indian philosophical thought through WFEB co-founder Ravi Shankar, Pradhan noted that while artificial intelligence can reproduce stored knowledge, true intelligence is boundless and rooted in conscience, creativity and compassion. Practices such as breathwork and meditation, he suggested, can help leaders develop the calm clarity needed for ethical decision making.
The event also featured a discussion with Maninder Adityaraj Singh, chief of staff and head of innovation at Rediffusion Brand Solutions Pvt Ltd, and Yash Johri, lawyer, Supreme Court of India.
Opening the session, IAA India chapter president Abhishek Karnani, highlighted the need for industries to understand and engage with AI responsibly.
“AI has to be befriended and understood,” added Rediffusion managing director and AIAI national convenor Sandeep Goyal. “Its ethical use will determine whether it becomes a friend or a foe.”
As AI continues to reshape industries and societies, Pradhan ended with a simple but powerful call to action. Businesses, governments and individuals must work together to ensure that the algorithms shaping the future reflect human values rather than just cold logic.
