News Broadcasting
7 Star to offer consultancy for cable ops
For the harried small cable op in India, flustered by the myriad possibilities of conditional access and Internet over cable, help is at hand.
Shamim Shaikh, managing director of the most proactive cable TV network coalitions in India – the Seven Star Cable Network which controls around 20 per cent of Mumbai’s cable TV viewing populace, is launching a consultancy for cable ops. The consultancy will help the cable op choose between the right hardware for his system from the bewildering array available currently.
“While vendors are merely interested in pushing their wares, mostly imported, cable ops are often not clear about their requirements and end up investing huge amounts in outdated or irrelevant technology,” he says. Seven Star – an agglomeration of nine once-independent cable TV systems – was the first Indian CATV networks to install an addressable system in subscribers’ homes way back in 1999. Shaikh, who consequently has a wealth of experience to bank on, now plans to disburse his knowledge with the vast scattered community of cable ops in the country.
“I don’t want the cable ops to repeat the mistakes we made”, says Shaikh, pointing out that most small time cable ops invest huge amounts from their own pockets in putting up systems like Internet over cable and then run the risk of incompatibility. Hardware like switches, amplifiers, even optic fibre needs to be such that it is upgradable and compatible to the Indian conditions, says Shaikh. The novice cable op often trusts the vendors and ends up with the wrong product, he says. Shaikh himself had burnt his fingers with a CMTS system in which Seven Star invested nearly Rs 5 million some years ago. Several cable ops also stand the risk of being stuck with set top boxes which may not work efficiently in Indian conditions as well as with ISPs who may not be ideal for their networks, he says.
Shaikh, who already has clients in Dar-es-Salam, Tanzania, and Sri Lanka, now plans to open an office in Mumbai to cater to domestic cable ops.
News Broadcasting
Rising Bharat Summit 2026 spotlights India’s global ascent
PM Modi keynotes two-day event with ministers, diplomats and icons in New Delhi.
MUMBAI: India didn’t just host a summit, it threw a coming-out party for a nation ready to own the global stage. The News18 Rising Bharat Summit 2026, held on 27–28 February in New Delhi, emerged as a high-octane platform for ideas, vision and strategic dialogue, uniting national leadership, global policymakers, industry titans, defence strategists and cultural icons under the theme “Strength Within”.
Prime minister Narendra Modi set the tone with a keynote that framed India’s resurgence as a reclaiming of lost potential built over generations. “In previous industrial revolutions, India and the Global South were merely followers,” he said. “But in the era of Artificial Intelligence, India is a partner in decisions and shaping them.” He highlighted the country’s thriving AI startup ecosystem and the recent AI Impact Summit attended by over 100 nations.
Union minister Piyush Goyal (Commerce & Industry) stressed India’s readiness to scale exports and deepen manufacturing, while Ashwini Vaishnaw (Railways, I&B, Electronics & IT) positioned technology and infrastructure as twin engines of growth, especially in AI and digital trust. Jyotiraditya Scindia (Communications & North East Development) revealed India’s ambition to lead in 6G through the Bharat 6G Alliance and partnerships with over 30 countries.
Global voices added depth: former Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo called India’s development “self-sustaining” and strategically vital; ex-UK Chief of Defence Staff General Sir Nick Carter asserted India deserves a seat at the great powers’ table; and former US Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez joined ambassadors from Norway, Germany and Sweden in discussions on geopolitical realignment, sustainability and defence preparedness.
Other speakers included veteran investor Ramesh Damani, World Gold Council CEO David Tait, Vianai Systems founder Dr Vishal Sikka, DeepTech Bharat Foundation co-founder Shashi Shekhar Vempati, defence experts Rajesh Kumar Singh, Sunil Ambekar, Patrick McGee, Tom Cooper and Adrian Fontanellaz, plus cultural and sporting icons Kangana Ranaut, Saina Nehwal, PR Sreejesh, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mithali Raj, Anil Kapoor and Yami Gautam.
The summit was supported by Jio Financial Services (Presenting Partner), Phonepe and DS Group (Co-Presenting Partners), Pernod Ricard India and Kia Seltos (Powered By & Driven By), state governments of Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand (State Partners), and associate partners including NSE, M3M Foundation and Reliance Industries.
Broadcast live across News18 Network, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, the event reinforced India’s image as a confident democracy and emerging global power proving that when strength comes from within, the world can’t help but watch.
