News Broadcasting
Puja Sethi exits Times Network after brief tenure
NEW DELHI: Puja Sethi is on the move again. After ten months as managing editor of Times Network Digital, she has announced her departure—the latest chapter in a career that has taken her through nearly every corner of Indian media since the turn of the millennium.
The move, described by Sethi as “difficult” and made “after much reflection”, ends a stint that began in March 2025. It continues a pattern of strategic pivots that have defined her professional trajectory. Her LinkedIn profile reads like a guided tour of India’s evolving digital media landscape: India TV (two-and-a-half years), Zee Entertainment (two years, seven months), myUpChar.com (one year, three months), Jagran New Media (six years, ten months in various roles).
Sethi’s career began in the early days of Indian private broadcasting, when she anchored programmes for All India Radio and Doordarshan as a freelancer. She was then scouted by Moving Pictures to present Subha Savere, billed as India’s first Hindi news breakfast show, before moving to “India This Week” as a political correspondent. By 2002, she had landed at Indiatimes, where she ran mobile content for short code 58888—India’s most widely subscribed text service at the time, back when people actually paid for SMS news alerts.
Print beckoned next. Sethi served as executive editor of two hyper-local newspapers, Neighbourhood Flash and Jagran Cityplus, launching 48 editions of the latter across Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune.
Then it was back online: editor of OnlyMyHealth.com, where she grew the user base to over 5 million, followed by a lengthy stint as digital head at Jagran New Media, managing content strategy and partnerships.
The vice-president role at myUpChar.com came in 2019, before she joined Zee Entertainment as group editor in April 2020, navigating the pandemic’s digital acceleration. By October 2022, she had moved to India TV, also as group editor. Three years later, Times Network came calling.
What next? Sethi, an English literature graduate from Lady Shri Ram College and a master’s from Miranda House, has not said. Her LinkedIn post speaks of “new challenges” and “the next chapter”—the standard language of career transitions, though given her track record, something substantial is likely brewing.
If there is a constant in Sethi’s career, it is adaptability. She has worked across radio, television, print, mobile content, online health portals, regional news networks and national broadcasters. She has launched products, grown audiences, managed teams and overseen digital strategies through multiple technological revolutions. Indian media’s evolution from analogue to digital, from SMS to social, from desktop to mobile—she has been there for all of it. Whether the next chapter involves another newsroom or something entirely different, it will likely reflect the same versatility that has marked her three decades in the business.
News Broadcasting
Induction cooktop demand spikes 30× amid LPG supply concerns
Supply worries linked to West Asia tensions push households and restaurants to turn to electric cooking alternatives
MUMBAI: As geopolitical tensions in West Asia ripple through global energy supply chains, the familiar blue flame in Indian kitchens is facing an unexpected challenger: electricity.
What began as concerns over the availability of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has quickly evolved into a technology-driven shift in cooking habits. Households across India are increasingly turning to induction cooktops and other electric appliances, initially as a backup but now, for many, a necessity.
A sudden surge in demand
Recent data from quick-commerce and grocery platform BigBasket highlights the scale of the shift. According to Seshu Kumar Tirumala, the company’s chief buying and merchandising officer, demand for induction cooktops has risen dramatically.
“Induction cooktops have seen a significant surge in demand, recording a fivefold jump on 10 March and a thirtyfold spike on 11 March,” Tirumala said.
The increase stands out sharply when compared with broader kitchen appliance trends. Most appliance categories are growing within 10 per cent of their typical demand levels, while induction cooktops have witnessed explosive growth as households rush to secure an alternative cooking option.
Major e-commerce platforms including Amazon and Flipkart have reported rising searches and orders for induction stoves. Quick-commerce apps such as Blinkit and Zepto have also witnessed stock shortages in major metropolitan areas including Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
What was once considered a convenient appliance for hostels, small kitchens or occasional use has suddenly become an essential addition in many homes.
A crisis thousands of miles away
The trigger for this shift lies far beyond India’s kitchens.
Escalating conflict in the Middle East has disrupted shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy corridors. Nearly 85 to 90 per cent of India’s LPG imports pass through this narrow waterway, making the country particularly vulnerable to supply disruptions.
The ripple effects have been swift.
India currently meets roughly 60 per cent of its LPG demand through imports, and tightening global supply has already begun to affect domestic availability and prices.
Earlier this month, the price of domestic LPG cylinders increased by Rs 60, while commercial cylinders rose by more than Rs 114.
To discourage panic buying and hoarding, the government has also extended the mandatory waiting period between domestic refill bookings from 21 days to 25 days.
Restaurants feel the pressure
The strain is not limited to households. Restaurants, hotels and roadside eateries are also grappling with supply constraints as commercial LPG availability tightens under restrictions imposed through the Essential Commodities Act.
In cities such as Bengaluru and Chennai, restaurant associations report that commercial LPG availability has dropped by as much as 75 per cent, forcing many establishments to rethink their kitchen operations.
Some restaurants have reduced menu offerings, while others are rapidly installing high-efficiency induction systems, creating hybrid kitchens where electricity now shares the workload with gas.
For smaller eateries and roadside dhabas, the shift is less about sustainability and more about survival.
A potential structural shift
The government has maintained that there is no nationwide LPG crisis and has directed refineries to increase production to stabilise supply.
Nevertheless, the developments of March 2026 may already be triggering a longer-term behavioural shift.
For decades, LPG has been the backbone of cooking in Indian households. However, recent disruptions have highlighted the risks of relying on a single fuel source.
Increasingly, households appear to be hedging against uncertainty by adopting electric cooking options to guard against price volatility and delivery delays.
If the current trend continues, the induction cooktop, once viewed as a niche appliance, could emerge as a quiet symbol of India’s evolving kitchen economy.
