News Broadcasting
Mandals to the Metaverse Zee 24 Taas Goes Global with Ganpati
MUMBAI: Ganpati Goes Global, and Zee 24 Taas Is Right at the Heart of It. From Glasgow to Girgaon, Ganpati is no longer just a local celebration, it’s a global phenomenon. And Zee 24 Taas isn’t just covering the news, it’s shaping the narrative. In an engaging conversation with Indian Television Dot Com Zee 24 Taas editor Kamlesh Sutar shared how the channel is reimagining festive programming to reflect both tradition and tech, rural reverence and social media sparkle.
“It starts with Shravan,” Sutar explains, “Dahi Handi and Gokulashtami kick off the season, followed by Ganesh Utsav, Navratri, and Diwali. Our audience spans the globe now diaspora in the US, UK, UAE, even Pakistan tunes in.” Last year, the channel’s Desho Deshi Se Bappa special featured live coverage from Glasgow, where the Grand Maharashtra Mandal’s celebrations lit up screens back home.
Zee 24 Taas plans to go bigger this year, capturing Ganesh festivities in cities with strong Maharashtrian communities Dubai, New York, Spain, and beyond showing how faith travels and festivals follow.
Back home, the strategy is rooted in hyper-local storytelling. “Mumbai isn’t just Mumbai,” Sutar says. “We go down to the mohalla Dadar, Parel, Girgaon. And the same for other cities Ashur in Pune, Hatkanangle in Kolhapur. Hyper-local gives us deeper engagement and a stronger emotional connect.”
The channel’s on-ground teams no longer report from the field they are the field. Anchors now go live from pandals and mandals, turning static coverage into immersive storytelling.
Zee 24 Taas is also speaking the language of Gen Z. “Young people don’t tune into conventional news, they scroll it,” Sutar says. So the team infuses digital-first formats like Instagram Lives, trending reels, and celeb-driven content. A Celebrity Ganpati segment is in the works, roping in well-known faces to boost youth engagement across platforms. “We’re not just live on TV, we’re live on YouTube, Instagram, everywhere.”
To keep audiences plugged into the pulse of the festival, Zee 24 Taas has lined up a comprehensive slate of special programming that blends devotion with entertainment. For television viewers, the schedule includes Shree Ganesh Aarti, a daily broadcast of the morning aarti from 27 August to 6 September at 6:45am, and Zee 24 Taas Sukhkarta, airing twice first as a build-up from 21 to 26 August at 10:30am, and later as a daily festival bulletin from 27 August to 6 September at 7:30am.
Global Bappa, telecast at 12:30pm, brings a glimpse of Ganeshotsav celebrations from across the world, while Bappa Aaj Kai Khanar spices things up with festive recipes during the same afternoon slot. Gharguti Ganesh Spardha, airing from 1:30pm to 2pm, invites viewers to showcase their home celebrations, while Celebrity Ganpati brings star-studded darshans to the screen from 5:30pm. Gavakadcha Bappa, scheduled at 7:30pm, offers local flavours through festival walk-throughs from across Maharashtra. Special aarti broadcasts like Shree Ganeshachi Pran Prathishtha will mark the festival’s start on 26 and 27 August. The finale, Pudhchya Varshi Lavkar Ya, on Anant Chaturdashi (6 September), will run from 7am to 11pm, capturing the immersion-day fervour.
Beyond the box, Zee 24 Taas is equally charged up on digital. Their festival content package includes a mix of festival news, informative stories on Ganesh Chaturthi’s significance and rituals, vibrant photo galleries featuring eco-friendly idols and pandals, and specially curated recipes. The channel’s social feeds will also be abuzz with original and syndicated videos, plus crowd-sourced web stories featuring images sent by enthusiastic devotees. This integrated multi-platform strategy ensures Zee 24 Taas celebrates Ganeshotsav not just as a regional affair, but as a global experience echoing across living rooms in India and beyond.
Sustainability, too, has made its way into editorial choices. The channel spotlights eco-friendly idols, online pujas, and even the rise of online Ganesh shopping. “Modern-day concerns like the environment and accessibility are integrated seamlessly,” Sutar notes.
Zee 24 Taas is mindful of maintaining editorial sanctity while embracing advertiser partnerships. “Brand integration works when it’s organic,” says Sutar. “For instance, a mithai brand during Ganpati feels natural. We steer clear of irrelevant sponsorships. It has to be a win-win for the brand and for our audience.”
The channel’s approach ensures advertisers find a contextual home during peak seasons, and viewers get content that’s immersive, not intrusive. With tailored brand stories, past campaigns have seen solid ROI and lasting recall.
At its heart, Zee 24 Taas’ festive coverage is driven by a simple belief: India’s festivals aren’t bound by state lines or even national ones. They resonate worldwide, evolve with technology, and unite communities through shared celebration.
And as Kamlesh Sutar puts it best, “I may not celebrate Ganpati at home anymore, but with Zee 24 Taas, I get to celebrate it with a million households across the world.”
News Broadcasting
Induction cooktop demand spikes 30× amid LPG supply concerns
Supply worries linked to West Asia tensions push households and restaurants to turn to electric cooking alternatives
MUMBAI: As geopolitical tensions in West Asia ripple through global energy supply chains, the familiar blue flame in Indian kitchens is facing an unexpected challenger: electricity.
What began as concerns over the availability of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has quickly evolved into a technology-driven shift in cooking habits. Households across India are increasingly turning to induction cooktops and other electric appliances, initially as a backup but now, for many, a necessity.
A sudden surge in demand
Recent data from quick-commerce and grocery platform BigBasket highlights the scale of the shift. According to Seshu Kumar Tirumala, the company’s chief buying and merchandising officer, demand for induction cooktops has risen dramatically.
“Induction cooktops have seen a significant surge in demand, recording a fivefold jump on 10 March and a thirtyfold spike on 11 March,” Tirumala said.
The increase stands out sharply when compared with broader kitchen appliance trends. Most appliance categories are growing within 10 per cent of their typical demand levels, while induction cooktops have witnessed explosive growth as households rush to secure an alternative cooking option.
Major e-commerce platforms including Amazon and Flipkart have reported rising searches and orders for induction stoves. Quick-commerce apps such as Blinkit and Zepto have also witnessed stock shortages in major metropolitan areas including Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
What was once considered a convenient appliance for hostels, small kitchens or occasional use has suddenly become an essential addition in many homes.
A crisis thousands of miles away
The trigger for this shift lies far beyond India’s kitchens.
Escalating conflict in the Middle East has disrupted shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy corridors. Nearly 85 to 90 per cent of India’s LPG imports pass through this narrow waterway, making the country particularly vulnerable to supply disruptions.
The ripple effects have been swift.
India currently meets roughly 60 per cent of its LPG demand through imports, and tightening global supply has already begun to affect domestic availability and prices.
Earlier this month, the price of domestic LPG cylinders increased by Rs 60, while commercial cylinders rose by more than Rs 114.
To discourage panic buying and hoarding, the government has also extended the mandatory waiting period between domestic refill bookings from 21 days to 25 days.
Restaurants feel the pressure
The strain is not limited to households. Restaurants, hotels and roadside eateries are also grappling with supply constraints as commercial LPG availability tightens under restrictions imposed through the Essential Commodities Act.
In cities such as Bengaluru and Chennai, restaurant associations report that commercial LPG availability has dropped by as much as 75 per cent, forcing many establishments to rethink their kitchen operations.
Some restaurants have reduced menu offerings, while others are rapidly installing high-efficiency induction systems, creating hybrid kitchens where electricity now shares the workload with gas.
For smaller eateries and roadside dhabas, the shift is less about sustainability and more about survival.
A potential structural shift
The government has maintained that there is no nationwide LPG crisis and has directed refineries to increase production to stabilise supply.
Nevertheless, the developments of March 2026 may already be triggering a longer-term behavioural shift.
For decades, LPG has been the backbone of cooking in Indian households. However, recent disruptions have highlighted the risks of relying on a single fuel source.
Increasingly, households appear to be hedging against uncertainty by adopting electric cooking options to guard against price volatility and delivery delays.
If the current trend continues, the induction cooktop, once viewed as a niche appliance, could emerge as a quiet symbol of India’s evolving kitchen economy.
