MAM
Varma’s The Factory appoints Starcom as its digital AoR
MUMBAI: Bollywood production and distribution company, The Factory, today announced Starcom Digital as its agency of record for all online and offline interactive media.
With immediate effect the agency will look after planning, negotiation and evaluation of The Factory’s digital initiatives. The assignment also includes development of online communities and launch of future titles of The Factory.
The Factory is the new name for the merged entity between producer-director Ramgopal Varma’s Varma Corp. and K Sera Sera.
“We believe the digital medium has not been properly leveraged by the movie business. We liked the vision Starcom presented to us. We hope that working together, we can do some ground breaking stuff,” Varma was quoted in an official release as saying.
“This is like a dream come true for us. Varma Corp is known to be amongst the best in their business and we are really looking forward to working with them. This assignment comes to us at a very significant stage, since we are on the verge of relaunching our product offering with a new vision and new scope,” Pranay Anthwal, group head, Starcom Digital, was quoted in the same release as saying.
“For The Factory, we intend using the entire gamut of digital vehicles, from internet to offline media like screensavers and other desktop applications to mobile media such as mobile phones and PDAs. The opportunities are literally limitless,” Anthwal said.
MAM
India’s employability gap persists despite strong hiring intent
Only 1 in 5 institutions achieve 76 to 100 per cent placements within six months of graduation.
MUMBAI: India’s young workforce is ready in numbers, but the real question is whether they are ready for work and senior leaders from industry, academia and policy gathered in Delhi to find practical answers. A closed-door roundtable hosted by Vaishali Nigam Sinha, co-founder of Renew, brought together key voices to discuss actionable solutions for bridging the persistent employability gap. The session highlighted that while job opportunities are expanding, the alignment between education and industry needs remains a critical challenge.
According to Teamlease EdTech’s Career Outlook Report HY1 2026, 73 per cent of employers plan to hire freshers in the first half of 2026, signalling steady recovery in entry-level hiring. However, employers are shifting focus from mere qualifications to demonstrable capability, placing greater value on internships, live projects and proof-of-work.
Teamlease Edtech, founder and CEO Shantanu Rooj emphasised the need for better alignment, “India’s employability challenge is no longer about access alone, but about alignment between education and work. Employers are increasingly relying on demonstrable capability such as internships, projects, and applied learning as indicators of readiness.”
Vaishali Nigam Sinha stressed the importance of execution over intent, “India has both the talent and the opportunity. What is needed now is alignment. We have to move from intent to execution by embedding employability into the system itself.”
Other prominent speakers included Dr Chenraj Roychand, Chancellor of Jain (Deemed-to-be) University, who called for universities to evolve from degree providers to ecosystem enablers, Prof M. Jagadesh Kumar, Chairman of the Board of Governors at IIM Calcutta, who highlighted the need for flexibility and multidisciplinary learning, and Dr T.N. Singh, Director of IIT Patna, who advocated deeper industry engagement through research and experiential learning.
The discussion also drew insights from the book Accelerating Impact. Enabling Dreams – Making India Employable by Shantanu Rooj and co-authors, which features contributions from leaders like Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Dr Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan and Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
During the event, Teamlease Edtech Foundation launched Project SEED, a national initiative aimed at bridging the education-employability gap for underserved youth. The project focuses on early intervention at the school level to guide students towards informed career choices and work-integrated pathways.
With only 16.67 per cent (1 in 5) of institutions achieving 76–100 per cent placements within six months of graduation, the conversation made one thing clear, India’s demographic dividend will deliver real value only when education and employability walk hand in hand. The gathering served as a timely reminder that the future of India’s workforce depends not just on creating more jobs, but on preparing young people far better to seize them.
