News Broadcasting
India Today Business Today’s budget roundtable with FM Nirmala Sitharaman
The India Today Business Today budget roundtable, scheduled for February 6, 2023, will include a star studded lineup of federal ministers, including Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The customary Budget day coverage, a yearly high interest event for television stations, was followed by this round table. On 1 February , when FM delivered the first amritkaal budget to the legislature, a trio of anchors Rahul Kanwal, Udayan Mukherjee and Rajdeep Sardesai presented a rapt post budget discussion. With over 143k average concurrent users on the India Today YouTube channel alone, our budget-day coverage made a blockbuster online debut.
The round table includes other ministerial colleagues, Secretaries, analysts and Indian industry doyens in addition to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who has the distinction of delivering five union budgets in a row and is likely to elaborate on her first of the Amritkaal budget.
Senior union ministers who will also address the nation from the podium include Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles Piyush Goyal, will all share their perspectives on the topic of the effective model for growth in times of global recession.
In order to present a vibrant and interesting session, BT Editors Sourav Majumdar, Siddharth Zarabi, Udayan Mukherjee, Aabha Bakaya, News Director of India Today and Aaj Tak, and Executive Director of Business Today, Rahul Kanwal, will demonstrate their distinctive anchoring approaches.
Details of the other sessions: A discussion on the Budget and the ‘Politics of an Election’ will feature dynamic speakers BJP MP Jayant Sinha and Congress National Spokesperson and social media chairperson Supriya Shinate, for the top tax consultants will discuss ‘Taxation: Hits and Misses’ including senior tax adviser Ved Jain, Deloitte APAC tax head Neeru Ahuja, Price Waterhouse Cooper partner Sanjay Tolia, Partner, EY India TMT tax leader Vishal Malhotra
While Central Board of Direct Taxes chairman Nitin Gupta, will take the audience through ‘The Long & Short of Taxation’, corporate leaders who will be debating the agenda ‘Push for Industrial Growth’ includes Feedback Infra chairman Parvesh Minocha, Lemon Tree Hotels, CMD Patanjali Keswani, HDFC Mutual Fund MD, CEO Navneet Munot, Snapdeal, CEO Kunal Bahl, Moglix Founder, CEORahul Garg, Max Life Insurance MD and CEO Prashant Tripathi.
A discussion with ‘The Budget Makers’ will feature Finance secretary T.Y. Somanathan, Department of revenue secretary Sanjay Malhotra, Department of economic affairs secretary Ajay Seth and Department of investment and public asset management secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 rolls out Battle for the States ahead of key polls
Multi-format election coverage tracks voter mood across five battleground states
NEW DELHI: CNN-News18 has launched a special election programming initiative titled Battle for the States, as India gears up for high-stakes Assembly elections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
Built around the theme ‘Road to Power’, the multi-format coverage aims to follow the entire electoral journey, from campaigning and polling to results and government formation. The network is leaning into on-ground reportage and data-backed storytelling to decode voter sentiment across regions where local issues often shape the narrative.
The programming line-up includes ‘Vote Tracker’, a three-part series developed in collaboration with survey agency Vote Vibe. The show blends survey insights with expert commentary and field reporting, using augmented reality graphics to present complex electoral data such as vote share, seat projections and leadership preferences in a more accessible format. It will air every Monday evening until April 6.
Adding a cultural lens to political reporting is ‘So Saree!’, a ground-driven segment where women anchors travel across constituencies dressed in traditional handwoven sarees from each state. The format uses attire as a storytelling device, highlighting regional identity while capturing grassroots voices.
Meanwhile, ‘Unfiltered Kaapi’ and ‘Chai-Niti’ bring a more conversational tone, drawing inspiration from everyday political discussions in tea stalls and coffee corners. These segments aim to break down key issues through candid, fast-paced exchanges between anchors and reporters, tailored to regional sensibilities.
For viewers seeking deeper insights, the weekend docuseries ‘Reporters Project’ takes a longer view, with correspondents travelling across constituencies to map voter concerns and political shifts on the ground.
“Elections are about people, their aspirations, identities and the issues that matter to them, and every state tells a different story,” said CNN-News18 editorial affairs director Rahul Shivshankar. He added that the initiative focuses on understanding “the sentiment on the ground and what’s driving voter choices”.
Echoing the emphasis on credibility, Network18 CEO – English and business news Smriti Mehra said the network aims to combine on-ground reporting with data-led insights to deliver clear and timely coverage as the elections unfold.
With a mix of data, culture and grassroots reporting, CNN-News18 is positioning Battle for the States as a comprehensive window into one of India’s most closely watched electoral cycles, where every vote carries a story waiting to be told.
