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Network 18’s Pawan Kumar Sharma joins Josh Talks as business head
Mumbai: Regional content and upskilling platform Josh Talks has appointed Pawan Kumar Sharma as business head. Sharma will be expanding the brand solutions vertical at Josh Talks, while driving strategic partnerships for the platform’s regional languages and new content category channels.
Sharma brings 16 years of experience in branded content, revenue management, and strategic business planning. Prior to joining Josh Talks, he was at Network18 as national head of revenue. He has worked at The Walt Disney Company for 11 years, leading its youth vertical – Bindass. Other media brands that Sharma has been associated with include UTV Action & Movies, Star India, and Reliance Big Entertainment.
“Organisations today are socially conscious and are interested in partnering with platforms that are impactful. At Josh Talks, we are creating content that is inspirational and actionable in 10 regional languages,” said Josh Talks CEO and co-founder Supriya Paul. “In the last few years, we have collaborated with some of the largest organisations namely Google, Meta, and Amazon amongst others on 100+ campaigns to engage with the next billion users. We are excited to bring a seasoned leader like Pawan on board to establish our brand solutions vertical and drive strategic partnerships with like-minded organisations that are leveraging storytelling to create change at the grassroots.”
“Josh Talks’ content reaches an audience that is increasingly relevant for all organisations today – 70 million+ youth from tier 2 and 3 cities who are seeking information and opportunities to do well in life. I am confident that we will be able to find synergies with leading organisations across industries to foster partnerships and also create exclusive content that is relevant and meaningful for the Indian audience,” shared Sharma. “Our larger goal is to give reasons to the youth of our country to be inspired, chase their dreams and contribute to nation-building at large,” he added.
eNews
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.
