iWorld
IDCA honours with the 2023 Mahatma Award for advancing sports inclusivity
Mumbai: The Indian Deaf Cricket Association (IDCA) has been conferred with the prestigious “Mahatma Award 2023” for their exemplary contribution to promoting inclusivity for differently-abled sportspersons in traditional sports.
The award was presented to Roma Balwani CEO of IDCA and Ms Reena Jain Malhotra, Patron of IDCA, on the eve of the 154 birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in New Delhi. Team members from the IDCA women’s league were also present at the ceremony.
Mahatma Awards founder Amit Sachdeva said, “This is indeed a phenomenal initiative for promoting ability in sports. By bringing specially-abled into mainstream sports, such as cricket, we are actually making equality in sports. We all must come together to invest in this to take it forward. Excellent work by the Indian Deaf Cricket Association.”
IDCA has been breaking down barriers for differently-abled sportspersons by providing a platform for hearing-impaired individuals to showcase their talent in cricket. Formed in 2020, closely works with the ICC to promote cricket amongst deaf cricketers globally. It is engaged in organising matches at the national and international level.
IDCA CEO Roma Balwani said, “We believe that sports have the power to bring a positive change in the society and unite the people. Our motive is to empower the 26.8 million differently-abled people of the country and instil the belief that nothing is impossible.”
“We are honoured to be presented with this esteemed award on the occasion of the 154th Birth Anniversary of the Father of the Nation. The recognition will motivate us to continue with our efforts to promote inclusivity in mainstream sports,” she said.
The Mahatma Award is conferred to organisations for accomplished and influential social and community initiatives. It acknowledges remarkable contributions in diverse fields such as sustainability, philanthropy, shared value, and corporate social responsibility. Moreover, it recognizes those who use their literary and creative genius to bring social consciousness to the forefront. Founded and instituted by Philanthropist Amit Sachdeva, also known as ‘The CSR Man of India’, the annual award is supported by the Aditya Birla Group and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
iWorld
Arafta Season 2 greenlit as YouTube hit crosses 850 million views
GoQuest, Rains double down on global Turkish drama success story
MUMBAI: GoQuest Media and Rains Pictures have greenlit Season 2 of Arafta, riding on the runaway success of its debut season that has clocked over 850 million views on YouTube and secured licensing deals across 19 territories.
The upcoming season, already in production, will span 100 episodes and continue with a YouTube-first release strategy, a model that has proved to be a quiet disruptor in global content distribution. Season 1, which premiered in November 2025, built a strong digital following before translating that traction into international deals.
The series is currently licensed to platforms including Amazon MX Player in India, Kanal 7 in Turkey, and Vidio, along with several markets across Europe such as Romania, Hungary and Latvia. Across five language channels, the show has amassed more than 2.5 million subscribers, signalling growing global appetite for Turkish storytelling.
Notably, many of these licensing deals were struck after the show had already aired on YouTube, flipping the traditional distribution model on its head. Instead of competing with broadcasters, the digital-first strategy appears to be doing the heavy lifting in building awareness and audience demand.
GoQuest Media managing director Vivek Lath said, “Arafta is proving out what we believed about the make-to-sell model. A YouTube-first release does not compete with licensing. It builds the asset that licensees are buying.”
Season 1 wrapped on April 17 with a globally streamed finale that drew over 102,000 concurrent viewers, setting the stage for the next chapter. Lead actors İlsu Demirci and Emin Günenç will return, with the narrative continuing to explore themes of love, vengeance, sacrifice and fate.
Rains Pictures executive Sevda Kaygısız said the decision to move quickly into Season 2 was driven not just by success, but by the depth of the story still to be told. “Arafta is not just a successful project for us; it reflects our belief in powerful storytelling and building a genuine emotional connection with audiences,” she noted.
As Turkish dramas continue to travel beyond borders, Arafta’s success underscores a larger shift in how global hits are made and sold. In this case, the small screen found its big moment online first, and the world followed.
