GECs
Hathway promotes Milind Karnik
MUMBAI: For long, Hathway Cable & Datacom old-timer Milind Karnik has been mandated with running the cable TV MSO’s secretarial operations as company secretary. Now he has been given a new role: as the head of commercial – all India and also the western India head. Karnik has been with Hathway since 1998 and he has resigned from his earlier position to take up the post, Hathway informed the BSE on 6 December. Replacing him is Ajay Singh, who has been appointed as company secretary and compliance officer.
Singh has an experience of 17 years. He has moved to Hathway from Real Networks India. Prior to this, Singh has worked with Drishtee Dot Com, Rangs Technologies and PACL India.
While Karnik was already handling the commercial business in the western region, in his new role, he will be handling the all India commercial business for Hathway.
“With digitisation, one needs to get the consumer billing and consumer application form in place for phase I and II respectively. This is a huge task. Also, in my new role, I will be working towards successfully completing phase III and phase IV of digitisation in western India,” informs Karnik, who plans to focus more on DAS phase III and IV now.
Karnik will work with Hathway subsidiaries including Hathway Bhawani and Hathway Rajesh as well. He will serve on the GTPL Hathway board.
Karnik will also handle commercial business in hotels which has a different tariff structure. “Hotels are still not digitised and so I will be concentrating on that as well. We need to explain to the 3-Star and 5-Star properties where room base is 50 and above that digital feed is better than analogue,” he says.
“In the case of hotels, we also aim to focus on pay per view, which is a niche segment. That apart, I will be dealing with internet bandwidth in the commercial segment,” he concludes.
GECs
Asianet Television Awards 2026 celebrates women power in Malayalam TV
“She is the Colour” theme honours icons as ceremony airs on March 14 and 15 at 7 PM.
MUMBAI: If television lights up living rooms, this year Asianet decided to let women provide the colour. The Asianet Television Awards 2026 turned the spotlight firmly on women empowerment with the theme “She is the Colour”, celebrating the strength, resilience and achievements of women who continue to shape society and the Malayalam entertainment industry.
The ceremony honoured several distinguished personalities whose journeys have left a lasting cultural imprint. Among them was legendary playback singer Vimala Varma, widely recognised as the first Malayalam playback singer. The evening also paid tribute to Padma Shri awardees Devaki Amma and Vimala Menon for their exceptional contributions in their respective fields.
Leading women from the Malayalam film industry were also recognised during the event, including actor Shweta Menon, who currently serves as president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists, and National Award winning actor Surabhi Lakshmi.
The awards ceremony brought together a glittering lineup of actors and industry figures, including Jayasurya, Vijay Babu, Asha Sarath, Lena, Esther Anil, Anumol, Akhila Bhargavan, Sarayu Mohan, Prajod Kalabhavan, Gayathri Suresh, Sabumon Abdusamad, Swasika, Tini Tom, Sijoy Varghese, Kailash, Veena Nandakumar, Sabareesh Varma, Ansiba Hassan and Dinesh Prabhakar. Kishan Kumar, executive vice president Malayalam at JioStar, was also present at the event.
Beyond individual recognitions, the awards celebrated excellence across Malayalam television, acknowledging artists and technicians whose work continues to drive the industry forward.
The evening also offered plenty of spectacle, with elaborate dance performances, stunt acts and comedy skits performed by popular television and film personalities, turning the ceremony into a full fledged entertainment showcase.
Viewers will get to watch the celebrations when the Asianet Television Awards 2026 air on Asianet on March 14 and 15, Saturday and Sunday, from 7 pm onwards, bringing the star studded tribute to homes across Kerala and beyond.
