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“Entrepreneurs need to establish unique solutions in the marketplace” says N. R. Narayana Murthy
Mumbai: The ABP Network’s “Ideas of India” Summit 2023 was discussing the topic of “A New Corporate Culture, The Leader’s Guide.” The summit has brought together policymakers, cultural ambassadors, industry experts, celebrities, and business leaders to discuss the critical role of India during the global churn and changing dynamics. ABP Network is a multi-language channel reaching 535 million individuals in India therefore this summit provides one of the biggest platforms for the brightest minds across various sectors to express their views.
“Today the funding has dried up therefore our entrepreneurs need to realize that the threshold for obtaining funding has been raised and now entrepreneurs need to establish unique solutions in the marketplace. Once it is established, there will be enough venture capitalists interested to look at those ideas,” said Infosys co-founder and former chairman, N. R. Narayana Murthy.
He further added, “An idea which has true value in India and is handled by the entrepreneurs who have the desire to control the cost, they will soon reach a positive cash flow situation.”
Speaking at the second edition of “Ideas of India” Summit, Murthy said, “The only instrument a country has to enhance for the prosperity of the country or to improve the income of its citizens is to work hard, to show discipline, have high aspiration, imbibe some values and perform because performance leads to recognition and that leads to respect and that further leads to economic power. Economic power is the foundation of all other powers. If you do economically well as a nation then you will eventually be powerful. So, youngsters should realize that performance is the only instrument they have.”
Speaking on India education, Murthy said, “I would say from my own experience of having worked with about 150 thousand employees that there are probably top 10 to 20 per cent of the students who are smart, bright and they fit in very quickly and very easily. But the majority of the students coming out of the Indian education system are exam-oriented, they have been brought up on the staple diet of coaching classes they do not study throughout the year, they wake up and in the examination, they come in and solve some problems and they forget about it. These youngsters need a lot of internal coaching before they become employable.”
On organisation culture, he said “If you want to build a culture of an organization, that culture building is only possible if we all come together in physical form so I am not enthusiastic about working from home. Moonlighting is unethical, you cannot be part of two Institutions because there may be classified information that may go from company A to company B.”
News Broadcasting
Network18 Q4 revenue grows 9.7 per cent, EBITDA at Rs 30 crore
PAT improves to Rs 306.6 crore, margins steady amid cost pressures.
MUMBAI: Not all news is breaking, some of it is quietly improving. Network18 Media & Investments Limited appears to be doing just that, tightening losses and stabilising margins even as costs continue to weigh on the business. For FY26, the company reported revenue from operations of Rs 1,955.1 crore, up from Rs 1,896.2 crore in FY25, signalling modest top-line growth in a challenging media environment. Total income stood at Rs 1,978.2 crore, compared to Rs 1,913 crore a year earlier.
Profit after tax came in at Rs 306.6 crore for the year, a sharp turnaround from Rs 3,225.4 crore in FY25, largely reflecting the absence of large exceptional items that had inflated the previous year’s numbers. On a more comparable basis, the company’s operating performance showed signs of gradual stabilisation.
However, the quarterly picture remained under pressure. For the March quarter, Network18 reported a loss of Rs 53.1 crore, narrower than the Rs 98.1 crore loss in the same period last year, but still indicative of ongoing cost challenges.
Expenses continued to track high. Total expenses for FY26 stood at Rs 2,235.7 crore, up from Rs 2,197.8 crore in FY25. Key cost heads included operational expenses of Rs 765.9 crore, employee benefits of Rs 475.9 crore, and marketing, distribution and promotional spends of Rs 427.1 crore, underlining the continued investment required to sustain reach and engagement.
At an operating level, margins remained under strain. Operating margin stood at 2.33 per cent for FY26, marginally higher than 1.77 per cent in FY25, while net profit margin remained negative at -13.02 per cent, though improved from -14.89 per cent.
On the balance sheet, total assets rose to Rs 8,957.6 crore as of 31 March 2026, from Rs 8,317.5 crore a year earlier. Equity strengthened to Rs 4,958.7 crore, while borrowings increased to Rs 3,112.8 crore, reflecting a higher reliance on debt to support operations.
Cash flows told a mixed story. While financing activities generated Rs 83.9 crore, operating cash flow remained negative at Rs -24 crore, highlighting ongoing pressure on core cash generation. Cash and cash equivalents, however, improved to Rs 33.9 crore from Rs 1.8 crore.
The numbers point to a company in transition growing revenues, trimming losses, but still grappling with structural cost pressures. In a sector where scale often comes at a price, Network18 seems to be inching towards balance, one quarter at a time.
