News Broadcasting
Creating distinctive value: Times Network wins Porter prize
MUMBAI: Times Network was recently awarded one of the most coveted corporate awards, Porter Prize 2016, which aims to recognize strategic acumen of corporates in India. The Porter Prize Award in creating distinctive value category was received by Times Network MD and CEO M K Anand and head of international business Naveen Chandra in the august presence of the minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha at an event held in Delhi.
The award honoured Times Network International business for their outstanding performance in the industry, ability to offer unique solutions to customers, effectively creating new market spaces, segments and providing solutions that redefine the market.
Anand said, “With over 100 million English viewers, Times Network is the most powerful media platform to influence opinion makers in and about India. We realize that beyond nurturing a profitable business we are also in a unique position to speak to our audiences and effect positive change in the Social and Economic spheres through our powerful channels.”
Porter Prize is organized in honour of the renowned philosopher, thinker, Harvard faculty member and the father of the modern strategic field, Michael E Porter. The central idea of the Porter Prize is to propel companies to compete on the basis of value creation, innovation and strategy and has a robust three-stage process of making an application, strategy audit and jury evaluation.
Chandra added, “Times Network has reached over 80 countries on five continents in just under five years building distinctive value for the business. The Indian diaspora globally is a very potent audience and we have built many high impact engagement platforms for the diaspora.”
The network that expanded its operations in UK last November, now delivers segmented and differentiated content to over 1.4 million viewers in UK. Internationally, the network is present across 83 countries in the world and has an aggressive expansion plan to start operations in France and Germany, in the near future. In India, the channel engages with over 100 million urban affluent viewers and its network channels enjoy an undisputed leadership in the country.
News Broadcasting
India Today Group debuts AI anchor ‘Sutra’ at AI Impact Summit 2026
Sutra aims to simplify live policy debates using sovereign AI models
NEW DELHI: India Today Group has unveiled Sutra, an AI-driven news anchor designed to deliver real-time, contextual reporting, marking the group’s latest push to integrate artificial intelligence into mainstream journalism.
The AI anchor was introduced at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi and developed in collaboration with BharatGen, with the initiative showcased by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
India Today Group said Sutra is built to navigate complex policy discussions and fast-moving developments by synthesising information into concise, accessible insights, aimed at narrowing the gap between high-level debates and public understanding. The AI anchor was used to surface live takeaways from key sessions at the summit.
India Today Group chief AI officer Nilanjan Das, said the project was focused on clarity and accessibility without diluting editorial rigour. He added that working with BharatGen aligned the group’s AI ambitions with India’s broader push towards sovereign technology capabilities.
BharatGen CEO Rishi Bal, said the partnership reflected a shift from basic automation towards deeper contextual intelligence in media. He emphasised the importance of indigenous, multimodal AI models capable of understanding Indian languages, regional dialects and cultural nuance, particularly as AI-driven news formats gain traction.
The launch positions India Today Group among the first major Indian media houses to deploy an AI anchor backed by home-grown technology, underscoring a growing convergence between journalism, public policy and sovereign AI infrastructure.
