News Broadcasting
Nimbus’ Thawani steps down; Akash Khurana takes charge
MUMBAI: The board of directors of Nimbus Communications Ltd has announced the appointment of Dr Akash Khurana as MD and CEO with immediate effect. Khurana succeeds Harish Thawani, who will continue as executive chairman of the company. The stated aim is to make the company a creative powerhouse.
Thawani’s decision to let go as far as day-to-day running of the company was concerned was reported by indiantelevision.com on 3 May.
Dr Khurana’s mandate is to transform Nimbus over the next three years into a creative powerhouse with multiple corporate and creative leaders. It is the vision of the company that in those three years, he takes over as chairman, having groomed his successor for MD and CEO, an official release states.
The choice of Dr Khurana to lead the company was a unanimous one and was taken in consultation with senior management and significant shareholders of Nimbus, the release says.
With an increasing focus on content product lines: television, motion pictures and music; and with a view to building multiple leaders in the company, it was felt that Nimbus should now be led by a creative leader with a HR focus and domain expertise in both and the company believes Dr Khurana fits the bill.
Thawani will henceforth be involved only with corporate strategy, new businesses mentoring and international ventures including joint ventures (such as World Sport Nimbus) and alliances. Nimbus is currently evaluating five allied lines of new businesses in the media and entertainment industry and to help new managers kick start them will be one of his key tasks in the months to come.
Thawani is quoted as saying: “The man’s a genius – how can anyone be an engineer, an MBA, a marketing man, an award winning actor, an award winning screenwriter and a doctorate in human resource development? Nimbus is indeed very very lucky to have him and I have no doubt that he will make a far better creative and corporate leader than I could ever be.”
Nimbus is currently involved with television content (2002-2003 produced over 300 hours of original content); motion pictures (two movies released in the past 18 months, three releases targeted over the next 12 months including the Hindi blockbuster Sarhad Paar); music (with its new label Nirvana Music lining up 12-15 releases for 2003-2004); sports (with a dominant position in cricket marketing and live production through its JV World Sport Nimbus); and media marketing (where it continues its traditional domination of air time sales in the biggest products on TV, i.e. cricket and movies).
The 2002-2003 sales of Nimbus were just under Rs 1.5 billion (unaudited) and sales handled by World Sport Nimbus in 2002-2003 were over $ 105 million .i.e. approximately Rs 5 billion equivalent (unaudited).
A brief CV of Dr Khurana
Dr Khurana is an engineering graduate with an MBA from XLRI and an M.Phil. and Ph.D. from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. He started his career as an executive with TELCO.
Dr Khurana took up a full time career in the media and entertainment industry in the late 1980s. Before that he was already involved in theatre and was also the founder of the theatre magazine Ovation. Having directed and acted in many successful theatre productions, he made his first screen appearance in Shyam Benegal’s Kalyug and went on to play character roles in over 50 films such as Saaransh, Ardh Satya, Sarfarosh, and Company. He won the Nandi Award of Andhra Pradesh for playing the lead in the Telugu film Dr Ambedkar.
Swayam directed by Mahesh Bhatt marked his debut as a screenwriter. He has written over 20 scripts, his best known work being Baazigar for which he won the Filmfare Award for best screenplay.
Dr Khurana has also been a visiting faculty at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, teaching subjects like creativity in learning organisations, organisational behaviour, business environment, and communications.
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.
