News Broadcasting
Nawani yet to say `yes’ to IBF
NEW DELHI: After having retained Prasar Bharati CEO KS Sarma as its president and getting Zee Telefilms’ Jawahar Goel as the new vice-president, the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) wants to have a low profile secretary-general, a sharp contrast to the former executive director flamboyant Bhuwan Lall.
But the man, who is currently being wooed by the apex body of broadcasting companies operating in India, is yet to say yes.
Former bureaucrat NP Nawani, who has also been secretary in the ministry of information and broadcasting during the United Front government’s stint at the Centre in 1997, is the person that IBF members would like to have as the secretary-general, the post that was earlier known as that of the executive director.
“The IBF board has authorised the president to open up talks with Nawani, but a final decision can only be taken after the person concerned gives some feedback,” an IBF board member said.
According to the information available with indiantelevision.com, Nawani had been sounded out by Sarma, himself a former bureaucrat before he joined the Prasar Bharati. The former’s contention has been that if the choice was “unanimous”, he was ready to take up the new assignment, which would fetch him a remuneration of Rs 75,000 per month.
Though Sarma refused to make any official comments on Nawani, sources in the IBF said that IBF is unanimous on the former bureaucrat’s candidature for the secretary-general’s post.
Meanwhile, the reconstituted IBF board sees new faces in form of Discovery India managing director Deepak Shourie, BBC World’s resident director Vinod Bakshi (all regular members), UTV CEO Ronnie Screwvala and NDTV’s Narayan Rao (co-opted members) and Ten Sports’ Sharmishtha of and Sun TV’s Sharad Kumar (special invitees).
SET India CEO Kunal Dasgupta, whose three-year term expired this year has been replaced by Zee’s Goel. Markand Adhikari has been co-opted as a director with no voting rights, after the expiry of his term as an office-bearer this year.
The others whose three-year term expired included Sahara TV president Mahesh Prasad and I Venkat of Enaadu TV. The latter, however, has been retained as the treasurer of the IBF.
Other directors on the IBF board, who continue in their position, include Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea, TV Today Network CEO G Krishnan, MTV’s Alex Kuruvilla and Turner International India’s country head Anshuman Misra.
The mood in the IBF is upbeat as president Sarma is understood to have done a good job in keeping the IBF members together and not letting a division happen — something that had almost become a reality in the wake of conditional access system being sought to be implemented and with IBF members having divergent stand on the matter.
IBF sources also indicated that in 2002 approximately Rs 5000 million dues outstanding against members had been recovered and by the end of this calendar year the rest of money too would be mopped up from advertisers, clients and other media companies.
News Broadcasting
Rising Bharat Summit 2026 spotlights India’s global ascent
PM Modi keynotes two-day event with ministers, diplomats and icons in New Delhi.
MUMBAI: India didn’t just host a summit, it threw a coming-out party for a nation ready to own the global stage. The News18 Rising Bharat Summit 2026, held on 27–28 February in New Delhi, emerged as a high-octane platform for ideas, vision and strategic dialogue, uniting national leadership, global policymakers, industry titans, defence strategists and cultural icons under the theme “Strength Within”.
Prime minister Narendra Modi set the tone with a keynote that framed India’s resurgence as a reclaiming of lost potential built over generations. “In previous industrial revolutions, India and the Global South were merely followers,” he said. “But in the era of Artificial Intelligence, India is a partner in decisions and shaping them.” He highlighted the country’s thriving AI startup ecosystem and the recent AI Impact Summit attended by over 100 nations.
Union minister Piyush Goyal (Commerce & Industry) stressed India’s readiness to scale exports and deepen manufacturing, while Ashwini Vaishnaw (Railways, I&B, Electronics & IT) positioned technology and infrastructure as twin engines of growth, especially in AI and digital trust. Jyotiraditya Scindia (Communications & North East Development) revealed India’s ambition to lead in 6G through the Bharat 6G Alliance and partnerships with over 30 countries.
Global voices added depth: former Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo called India’s development “self-sustaining” and strategically vital; ex-UK Chief of Defence Staff General Sir Nick Carter asserted India deserves a seat at the great powers’ table; and former US Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez joined ambassadors from Norway, Germany and Sweden in discussions on geopolitical realignment, sustainability and defence preparedness.
Other speakers included veteran investor Ramesh Damani, World Gold Council CEO David Tait, Vianai Systems founder Dr Vishal Sikka, DeepTech Bharat Foundation co-founder Shashi Shekhar Vempati, defence experts Rajesh Kumar Singh, Sunil Ambekar, Patrick McGee, Tom Cooper and Adrian Fontanellaz, plus cultural and sporting icons Kangana Ranaut, Saina Nehwal, PR Sreejesh, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mithali Raj, Anil Kapoor and Yami Gautam.
The summit was supported by Jio Financial Services (Presenting Partner), Phonepe and DS Group (Co-Presenting Partners), Pernod Ricard India and Kia Seltos (Powered By & Driven By), state governments of Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand (State Partners), and associate partners including NSE, M3M Foundation and Reliance Industries.
Broadcast live across News18 Network, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, the event reinforced India’s image as a confident democracy and emerging global power proving that when strength comes from within, the world can’t help but watch.
