News Broadcasting
Sahara tries a different approach to primetime
While other channels are still biting the family soap bait, Sahara TV has decided to tread the untrodden path with a new series on the theme of sati, to be slotted on the 8:30 pm prime time band.
Har Mod Par is the brainchild of Rakhi Tandon, who says she conducted extensive research on the theme of sati before finalising a real life story on which the serial will be based. Premiering on 4 March, the serial is about an innocent girl from the interiors of India who gets married and widowed on the same day. Tandon, the producer of the show, says she chose Sahara to showcase the battle of a girl against social evils, as it has a better reach in the interiors of the country along with a wide range of programmes.
A daily, Har Mod Par will be aired Mondays to Fridays, with repeats every day at 1:30 pm. The show could well play a crucial role in the channel’s programming, which is scheduled for a total revamp around March 2002. Says Tandon,”It will not be a social documentary, but an eye opener in an entertaining way.” According to one of the directors of the show, Jitendra Kumar, the team screened more than 400 young girls and even postponed the shoot for more than five months till they could find the right face for the lead role. Tandon says she has two directors, Kumar and Rahul Mewawala for the show, as a daily series involves a lot of post production and shooting work. The serial has currently been sanctioned a run of 260 episodes. The shooting for Har Mod Par is on at Charkop in suburban Mumbai, where the small town ambience has been recreated to accuracy.
While Tandon is tight lipped about the costs involved, she maintains that it is a medium budget show. Quizzed as to why Sahara picked this concept for a show, channel VP Priya Raj said,”As a channel, we are not in the TRP race. As a communication major, our target is to reach to the maximum viewers who are not covered by other channels. We have always provided different kind of content. With this serial too we are looking to provide fresh content to our viewers.” While no advertisers have been firmed up for the show, Raj said the channel follows a procedure of package selling wherein two or three programmes are sold as a package.
News Broadcasting
Times Now Summit 2026 to convene top leaders as network marks 20 years
Policymakers, global voices and industry leaders gather to shape India’s roadmap to 2047
NEW DELHI: Times Network is turning 20 and using the moment to set the agenda for India’s next 25 years. The broadcaster will host the Times Now Summit 2026 on March 26 and 27 in New Delhi, bringing together a heavyweight lineup of policymakers, global leaders and industry voices under the theme “Celebrating Times Now @ 20, Shaping India @ 100.”
The two-day summit aims to move beyond rhetoric to results, with keynote addresses, panel discussions and debates focused on India’s growth story, its challenges and the road ahead. Designed as a platform for high-impact dialogue, the event will evaluate promises versus performance while spotlighting actionable solutions to accelerate the country’s trajectory.
The speaker roster reads like a power list. Amit Shah, minister of home affairs and minister of cooperation; Ashwini Vaishnaw, minister of railways, minister of information and broadcasting, and minister of electronics and information technology; Hardeep Singh Puri, minister of petroleum and natural gas; and Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu, minister of civil aviation will headline discussions.
They will be joined by political leaders and public figures including Akhilesh Yadav, national president of Samajwadi Party and member of parliament; Manish Sisodia, former deputy chief minister of Delhi; Harmanpreet Kaur, captain of the Indian women’s cricket team; and Kriti Sanon, actor and entrepreneur, among others.
Global perspectives will come from Lindy Cameron, British high commissioner to India, and Juan Antonio March Pujol, ambassador of Spain, alongside other international voices.
Day one will also double up as a branding pivot for the network, with the unveiling of a new identity that positions Times Network not merely as a broadcaster but as a bridge connecting India to the world and the world to India in a continuous exchange.
The summit underscores Times Network’s ambition to remain at the centre of national conversations, curating dialogue that shapes policy, business and culture.
As India marches towards its centenary as an independent nation, the message from Times Now Summit 2026 is clear: the next chapter will be written not just in studios or boardrooms, but on platforms that bring power, policy and people into the same room — and force the future into focus.
