iWorld
ALTBalaji COO Sunil Nair steps down
MUMBAI: ALTBalaji chief operating officer (COO) Sunil Nair has stepped down from his current position. However, he will be serving the Ekta Kapoor-led OTT platform till 30 September.
After nearly 4 years of association with ALTBalaji, he has resigned from his role as the COO to pursue new adventures.
He joined the organisation in June 2015, even before the service was launched successfully on 16 April 2017. He was responsible for building India's first pure-play original video content platform. He also worked with brands like Reliance Jio, Star India.
Notably, Balaji Telefilms group CEO Sunil Lulla also quit last month. A few days after his resignation, Lulla announced his in-residence consulting service, The Linus Adventures.
Gaming
DPIIT partners with Krafton to boost tech-media startups
New MoU aims to accelerate innovation in gaming, esports and AI-driven entertainment.
MUMBAI: When government meets gaming, sparks are bound to fly and this time, the partnership promises to level up India’s startup scene in more ways than one. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), under India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Krafton India Pvt. Ltd. to support early-stage startups working at the intersection of technology and media. The agreement, formalised on Thursday, reflects a growing effort by policymakers to harness private-sector expertise for the country’s booming digital entertainment ecosystem.
Under the partnership, selected startups will gain access to mentorship, industry networks and structured opportunities to engage with established players. The initiative is designed to help young companies move from prototype to market-ready products, test concepts, secure market access and integrate into larger industry ecosystems.
Sanjiv, a joint secretary at DPIIT, described the collaboration as part of a broader strategy to strengthen India’s digital and creative economy. He emphasised that such alliances are essential for helping startups develop globally competitive solutions in emerging sectors such as online gaming, esports, interactive media and artificial intelligence.
The programme will feature innovation challenges under the government’s startup initiatives, along with hackathons, workshops and masterclasses covering game design, animation, immersive technologies and AI applications. Selected startups may also be considered for pilot projects with industry partners based on their performance.
In a sector where ideas move at the speed of a battle royale, this partnership could be the ultimate power-up giving promising startups the mentorship and exposure needed to turn creative sparks into sustainable success stories.
