Gaming
BGMS levels up with Rs 1.5 crore prize and biggest format shake-up yet
MUMBAI: Drop in, squad up, and watch the leaderboard go wild Battlegrounds Mobile India Masters Series (BGMS) is back with a bang. Nodwin Gaming’s flagship tournament, co-powered by Oneplus and Android, returns for Season 4 from 18 August to 14 September, with matches airing live daily on Star Sports Khel and JioStar between 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm. With a prize pool of Rs 1.5 crore and a bold new dual-tier structure, this year’s edition promises to be the most inclusive yet.
For the first time, viewers will get a multi-cam broadcast, one main stream, a dedicated map cam, plus four top-team cams that spotlight key players. From next week, player cams will zoom in on rising stars, giving fans an intimate look at gameplay. On the competition front, 24 pro teams will slug it out in the BGMS Masters Series, while another 24 squads including four all-women line-ups battle in the Challenger Series. The top four Challenger squads will advance to the playoffs, joining the lower-ranked Masters teams in a fight to secure one of 16 coveted semifinal slots.
“BGMS has always been more than a tournament; it’s a cultural phenomenon… From grassroots to greatness, from campus halls to national TV. This is BGMS like you’ve never seen before,” said Nodwin Gaming co-founder & MD, Akshat Rathee welcoming partners OnePlus, Android, TVS and Bisleri onboard.
Adding to the thrill are returning mechanics like the Powerplay (double finish points in the first zone), Impact Player (weekend finish points doubled for one chosen star), and the Bounty System (10 bonus points for eliminating the daily target team from 21 August to 7 September). These features, paired with back-to-back LAN events running from noon to 8:00 PM, ensure fans get wall-to-wall action both on ground and on screen.
“BGMS continues to break new ground in Indian esports, and we at JioStar are proud to bring this cultural movement to screens across the country,” added JioStar head of audience engagement and viewership and monetization initiatives Siddharth Sharma. “The expanded format, diverse participation and high-quality gameplay are exactly the kind of dynamic, youth-driven content we aim to champion.”
Season 3 of BGMS pulled in 145.5 million views across platforms, making it India’s most-watched esports tournament. With Season 4 airing on both television and JioStar for the first time, and inclusivity at its heart, BGMS is no longer just an esports league, it’s a cultural festival where campus hopefuls, pro gamers, and even all-women squads share the same battleground.
Gaming
Bluestone FY26 revenue rises to Rs 2,436 crore, turns profitable
Q4 profit at Rs 31 crore, full-year profit at Rs 13 crore vs loss last year.
MUMBAI: From sparkle to numbers, Bluestone seems to be polishing more than just jewellery this year. Bluestone Jewellery and Lifestyle Limited reported a sharp turnaround in FY26, with revenue from operations rising to Rs 2,436 crore (Rs 24,364 million), up from Rs 1,770 crore (Rs 17,700 million) in FY25. The company posted a full-year profit of Rs 13 crore (Rs 131.79 million), a significant recovery from a loss of Rs 222 crore (Rs 2,218 million) a year ago.
Total income for the year stood at Rs 2,486 crore (Rs 24,860 million), compared to Rs 1,830 crore (Rs 18,300 million) in the previous year, reflecting both topline growth and improved operational momentum.
The March quarter, however, told a more nuanced story. Revenue from operations came in at Rs 681 crore (Rs 6,814 million), down from Rs 748 crore (Rs 7,486 million) in the year-ago period, though higher than Rs 461 crore (Rs 4,613 million) in the preceding December quarter. Net profit for Q4 stood at Rs 31 crore (Rs 311.81 million), compared to Rs 68 crore (Rs 688 million) a year earlier, but a clear reversal from a loss of Rs 51 crore (Rs 512 million) in Q3.
Margins were shaped by higher input costs, with raw material consumption rising to Rs 2,204 crore (Rs 22,043 million) for the full year, alongside employee benefit expenses of Rs 282 crore (Rs 2,824 million) and finance costs of Rs 210 crore (Rs 2,104 million). Other expenses came in at Rs 371 crore (Rs 3,715 million), slightly lower than Rs 393 crore (Rs 3,938 million) in FY25.
On the balance sheet front, total assets expanded to Rs 4,961 crore (Rs 49,610 million) as of March 31, 2026, from Rs 3,532 crore (Rs 35,322 million) a year earlier, driven largely by a surge in inventories to Rs 2,672 crore (Rs 26,718 million). Equity also strengthened to Rs 1,803 crore (Rs 18,030 million), nearly doubling from Rs 911 crore (Rs 9,107 million).
Cash flows reflected the cost of growth. Net cash used in operating activities stood at Rs 199 crore (Rs 1,990 million), while investing activities saw an outflow of Rs 239 crore (Rs 2,392 million). Financing activities, however, generated Rs 497 crore (Rs 4,971 million), helping the company end the year with cash and cash equivalents of Rs 108 crore (Rs 1,075 million), up from Rs 49 crore (Rs 487 million).
Earnings per share for FY26 came in at Rs 1.10, a sharp improvement from a negative Rs 79.74 in FY25, underlining the shift from losses to profitability.
With revenue scaling up, costs still glittering on the higher side, and profitability finally back in the black, BlueStone’s FY26 performance suggests a business mid-transition less about shine alone, and more about sustaining it.
