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Hydrogen and green fuel will be India’s future fuel’, says Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari
Mumbai : Hydrogen is our future fuel, and future vehicles in India will run on hydrogen and green fuels, said Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari.
Speaking at the ABP Network’s second Ideas of India Summit, he stated that while he never mentioned India’s EV targets for 2030, India will undoubtedly shift to electric vehicles in the coming years.
“We import Rs. 16 lakh crore worth of fossil fuel every year but pretty soon our farmers will produce green fuel and green hydrogen,” he said adding that Lithium ion batteries will lead the shift from petrol and diesel driven cars. Reiterating that Lithium ion battery costs will come down in the next year or so, the minister said that India will soon become a net exporter of Lithium and become a major global player.
Expressing satisfaction with the development of highways in the country, Gadkari said, “In the coming years, public transport will be revolutionised in the country and the new highways will bring down travel time between key cities drastically.”
The minister also expressed confidence that the NDA and BJP will form the government both at the Centre and Maharashtra in the coming elections and said that performance audit of the ministers was more important than financial audit. He said that the government had created a positivity among people which will bring growth.
The minister however, said that his ministry and government had failed to curb the accident rate on Indian roads. “We wanted to reduce road accidents by 50 per cent by 2024 but we are not going to achieve it,” he said. For this, he said, human behaviour has to change as people were still not following rules of red lights, car seat belts or two wheeler helmets. He urged the society to introduce road safety education at the primary level to make Indians aware about this at a young age.
Gadkari also said that his target is to build 60 kms of roads every day and announced that new facilities like helipads and drone pads will be built on new toads for quick and emergency transport.
The ABP India Summit brought together the brightest brains from diverse sectors to address the question- where does India stand at this moment in history, with its burgeoning economy successfully tackling the energy divisions of yet another war in Europe, with a post-pandemic recalibrating world looking up to her as a global leader and a whole new generation of Indians impatient to lead across sectors? This year, the grand second edition of the ‘Ideas of India’ summit was woven around the theme of Naya India: Looking Inward, Reaching Out.
The second edition of ABP’s ‘Ideas of India’ Summit is taking place at a time of extreme global churn where India has a critical role to play in the changing global dynamics. With the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections just a few months away, issues like geo-political tension, inflation, unemployment and digitization have become important points of discussion. The two-day event will put the spotlight on where India stands today amidst such turbulence. The two-day event will help people know more about these prevailing issues and disruptions through the lens of those dealing with them at the strategic and core levels.
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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.
