News Broadcasting
BBC DG Thompson stresses need for radical change
MUMBAI: BBC’s new Director-General (DG) Mark Thompson had a clear message to a staff gathering of the need for real, radical change over the next few years.
Outlining a restructuring of the BBC’s executive committee, Thompson also announced reviews into its commercial businesses, production and commissioning, and how to increase efficiencies and control costs through self help.
He said, “Without great programmes, great content, we’re nothing. Our task is going to be to change the BBC more rapidly and radically over the next three to five years than at any previous point in its history. We believe that over the next decade the BBC will have a bigger role than ever in building public value, creating a far more open, responsive, agile BBC and always putting our audiences first.
One of his first moves will be to make the structure of the BBC simpler, more effective and more able to adapt and change. This will be done through the creation of three new boards, covering the BBC’s main activities.
Thompson said that since he left the BBC in early 2002 to become Chief Executive of Channel 4, both the BBC and he had changed and he was coming back with fresh eyes.
Thompson will chair a cross media creative board made up of all the divisions that drive the BBC’s creative work. Alan Yentob who is currently BBC’s drama and entertainment director will also become its creative director.
BBC Deputy DG Mark Byford, in an enhanced role, will now lead all BBC’s journalism. He will chair a new Journalism Board. This will bring all BBC’s journalism at an international, UK, national, regional and local level together for the first time.
Finance director John Smith will chair the third board. This will covering the BBC’s commercial businesses, giving greater strategic clarity and realising economic and creative potential.
He will also be BBC COO. He is in charge of all the BBC’s commercial and resourcing subsidiaries, as well as leading its finance and property departments.
Thompson said the creation of the three boards meant he could reduce the BBC’s Executive Committee from 16 people to a tighter Executive Board of nine.
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.
