News Broadcasting
Padm Shri for Barkha Dutt, Rajdeep Sardesai, Vinod Dua
MUMBAI: The ‘Padm Shri’ award will be conferred to six media personalities this year.
Among the winners of the ‘Padma Shri’ are CNN-IBN editor-in-chief Rajdeep Sardesai along with NDTV’s managing editor, Barkha Dutt and Vinod Dua from the news channels.
Bollywood actor Madhuri Dixit, actor Tom Alter and Hollywood film maker Manoj Night Shyamalan are also on the list.
Rajdeep Sardesai, who entered television journalism in 1994 as political editor of NDTV, was the host of the award-winning talk show The Big Fight, and was particularly appreciated for his coverage of the Gujarat riots. Sardesai has been bestowed with many prizes for journalism including ‘C H Mohammad Koya Journalism Award’ -2007 and ‘Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards’ for 2006-07.
Barkha Dutt has won over 20 international and national awards, including the Commonwealth Broadcasters Award 2002, the ‘Global Leader of Tomorrow Award’ from the World Economic Forum in 2001, and the ‘Broadcast Journalist of the Year’ award from the Indian Express, in 2005.
Vinod Dua has been a prominent face of television for over three decades, known for his distinctive style and informal manner. He has been a producer and anchor for a wide range of programmes, which covered election analysis, political commentaries, documentaries and features. Dua has earlier received the ‘B D Goenka award for excellence in journalism’.
Madhuri Dixit is one of the biggest stars of the Indian film industry. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, she dominated Hindi cinema as a leading actress, appearing in many hit films like Tezaab in 1988 Ram Lakhan, Parinda and Tridev in 1989, Dil in 1990, Saajan in 1991, Beta in 1992, Khalnayak in 1993, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun in 1994 and Raja in 1995.
Tom Alter is an Indian actor of American origin. He has worked for Satyajit Ray in Shatranj Ke Khiladi and Ismail Merchant. In Sardar, the 1993 film biography of Sardar Patel, Alter portrayed ‘Lord Mountbatten’. He has also played sadistic mob lord Keshav Kalsi in long running series Junoon on Doordarshan .
M. Night Shyamalan is best known for his work on the movies The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, and The Village.
Meanwhile, the government has decided not to confer highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna to any politician this year.
For the past six years, the award has not being given to anyone.
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.
