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Joseph Gordon-Levitt to headline IFP season 14 as opening session speaker
Mumbai: IFP (formerly India Film Project) has announced celebrated international actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a special speaker for its opening session at the fourteenth edition of the festival on 12 and 13 October in Mumbai. Building on its legacy of thirteen successful seasons, this premier festival for ‘Creativity X Culture’ marks Gordon-Levitt’s first visit to India.
Gordon-Levitt is an actor, filmmaker, and entrepreneur known for films such as 500 Days of Summer, Inception, Looper, Snowden, Don Jon, and Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F and his online media platform HIT RECORD. He’s a two-time Primetime Emmy Award winner renowned for his versatility and stellar performances, will join the esteemed lineup of Indian film industry luminaries, including Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Kabir Khan, Tapsee Pannu, Aditi Rao Hydari, Saurabh Shukla, Shoojit Sircar, Guneet Monga, Ram Madhvani, Kunal Kemmu, Sharvari, and many more.
Sharing his excitement about coming to IFP, Gordon-Levitt expressed, “It feels surreal to be visiting India for the first time. I’ve long been a fan of Indian music and culture and have been engaging with Indian creators through our community, HIT RECORD. Being invited to speak at the 14th Season of IFP is truly an honor. The rise of independent cinema, storytelling, and art in India fascinates me. There’s something captivating about how its rich history blends with the world of film and music. I’m excited to experience this vibrant creativity firsthand at IFP.”
Staying true to its innovative roots, IFP brings back its signature series of 50-hour challenges in filmmaking, music, design, performing arts, writing, and photography to this season, with over 54,000 creative minds participating globally. IFP Season 14 has something unique to offer to everyone – from thought-provoking discussions to immersive experiences.
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PNB partners Kiwi to launch credit-enabled UPI for users
Targets 180 million customers; RuPay card offers 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent cashback
MUMBAI: Swipe, tap, or scan credit is quietly slipping into the rhythm of everyday payments, and Punjab National Bank wants in on the action. The state-run lender has partnered with Kiwi to roll out credit-enabled UPI payments for its 180 million customers, marking a significant push to blend traditional banking with India’s fast-evolving digital payments ecosystem.
At the centre of the collaboration is the launch of the PNB Kiwi Credit Card on the RuPay network. The card is designed with a digital-first approach, offering fully online onboarding and seamless integration with UPI, allowing users to transact via scan-and-pay while accessing credit.
The offering also brings in a rewards layer, with cashback ranging from 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent on online transactions, positioning the product as both a convenience play and a spending incentive.
The move comes as UPI continues to dominate India’s digital payments landscape, increasingly blurring the lines between debit-led transactions and credit access. For PNB, which operates over 10,000 branches around 60 per cent in semi-urban and rural areas, the partnership signals a targeted effort to extend formal credit to segments that have traditionally remained underserved.
The collaboration also reflects a broader industry shift, where banks and fintech platforms are converging to embed credit directly into payment flows, reducing friction while expanding access.
With RuPay credit cards gaining traction and UPI evolving beyond peer-to-peer transfers, the PNB–Kiwi tie-up positions both players at the intersection of scale, accessibility, and the next phase of digital finance in India.
