iWorld
Nesterra backs JioHotstar’s Kaise Banta Hai Season 2
MUMBAI: Nesterra has teamed up with JioHotstar for Kaise Banta Hai Season 2, marking its debut on the streaming stage and the first time an Indian home furnishing brand has fronted a series of this scale. The partnership pushes Nesterra beyond home fashion and into the world of craft, creativity and the thrill of making.
The new season dives into India’s most inventive factories and design labs, tracing the hidden journey from raw material to finished product. Across nine episodes, hosts Helly Shah and Varun Kapoor guide viewers through the country’s most imaginative production floors, revealing the skill, science and sweat behind everyday essentials and iconic Indian brands.
Chief executive and wholetime director at Sutlej Textiles and Industries (K K Birla Group) Ashish Kumar says Nesterra’s backing mirrors its belief in celebrating the process of creation, calling the series a vivid showcase of the art and precision that fuel India’s makers.
Shah says the show is an eye-opener into the innovation powering daily life. Kapoor calls it a tribute to India’s industrial and creative nerve, a blend of human effort, design and technology working at full tilt.
Created and produced by DigiKore Studios and presented by Nesterra, Kaise Banta Hai Season 2 is now streaming on JioHotstar, and it ends with a punch, promising viewers a front-row seat to India’s craft in full flow.
e-commerce
ONDC names Vibhor Jain MD and CEO; Rohit Lohia joins as CBO, Manoj Thakur as CTO
Leadership formalised as open commerce network sharpens focus on scale and user value
The Open Network for Digital Commerce has formalised Vibhor Jain as managing director and chief executive officer, cementing a leadership transition at India’s ambitious open commerce platform as it pushes for scale and relevance.
Jain, who had been serving as acting chief executive officer since April last year following the exit of Thampy Koshy, steps into the role with effect from 7th April , according to a report by The Economic Times. He previously served as chief operating officer at the government-backed network, which enables buyers and sellers to transact across applications through an open, interoperable system.
Setting out his strategy, Jain underscored the network’s differentiated architecture. “Going forward, we are concentrating on what open, interoperable infrastructure can uniquely enable, things that no single platform has the incentive or the architecture to do,” he said.
He added that the immediate priority is to widen ONDC’s impact across user cohorts often underserved by platform-led commerce. “My priority is to deepen the value ONDC creates for the people it exists to serve: kisaans, karigars, kiranas, gig workers, first-time investors, and daily commuters across India,” he said.
Jain also flagged leadership reinforcement within the organisation, noting that ONDC has “a strong and exciting leadership team in place”, with Rohit Lohia joining as chief business officer and Manoj Thakur as chief technology officer.
With over 18 years of experience spanning entrepreneurship and consulting, Jain brings a track record in technology-led, large-scale transformation programmes and internet businesses. At ONDC, he has been closely involved in shaping strategy and operations as the network seeks to move digital commerce away from platform-centric models towards an open network approach.
Before ONDC, Jain worked with JUMO, where he helped set up the fintech firm’s India operations, and led the India launch of Mobike, handling regulatory, policy and operational aspects of its market entry. Earlier, he co-founded Atlanta Healthcare, an air quality management company, and spent more than a decade in consulting roles at Andersen and EY, advising governments on public policy and technology-driven reforms, including work on the Aadhaar programme and tax systems.
The mandate is clear but the path is complex. As ONDC attempts to rewrite the rules of digital commerce, Jain now carries the burden of turning open architecture into mass adoption, in a market still dominated by platform power.
