iWorld
Shemaroo associates with ‘Lalbaugcha Raja’
MUMBAI: Shemaroo Entertainment, one of India’s leading integrated media content houses, acquires rights for the live feed of one of the most popular Mandals of Maharashtra – ‘Lalbaugcha Raja’ for mobile, Internet and DTH platforms. Shemaroo Entertainment will distribute content of Lalbaugcha Raja (video and images) to all the telecom operators.
Consumers will now be able to enjoy live darshan & ‘maha aarti’ of Lord Ganesha on their mobile and TV sets. It will be available on Shemaroo’s latest android app “Gods” and few other select mobile apps. One can also SMS – “SELBR” to 56060 to enjoy the Darshan, post which, a link will be received on the mobile set and one can enjoy live darshan of ‘Lalbaugcha Raja’ by simply clicking on it. Live Darshan of Lalbaugcha Raja will be available from 25 August 2017 onwards. Consumers who want to enjoy the Live Darshan on their TV will have to subscribe to the devotional service from their DTH Operators. Live Darshan will be available on Airtel – Om Shakti (Service No 674), Tata Sky- Devotion (Service No 1051), Dish – Bhakti Active (Service No 1069)& Videocon – D2H Darshan (Service No 481).
Shemaroo director Jai Maroo said, “It feels great to be blessed with an opportunity to distribute the Live Darshan of Lalbaugcha Raja to lakhs of devotees across India on various platforms. Every year we make an effort to make the Darshan easier and a better experience for our consumers. Hence, this year it is also available on our own app – Gods. Also expanding the number of platforms means reaching to a wider audience. We also take pride in the fact that Shemaroo is one of few companies in India that offers such a wide range of content to all the platforms where entertainment is consumed.”
Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshostav Mandal secretary Sudhir Salvi added, “We are glad to continue our association with Shemaroo for seven consecutive years. It is through Shemaroo’s efforts that these devotees are able to enjoy the Darshan of Lalbaugcha Raja in the comfort of their homes.”
iWorld
Meta plans 8,000 layoffs in new AI-led restructuring wave
First phase from May 20 may cut 10 per cent workforce amid AI pivot.
MUMBAI: At Meta, the future may be artificial but the cuts are very real. The social media giant is reportedly preparing a fresh round of layoffs, with an initial wave expected to impact around 8,000 employees as it doubles down on its artificial intelligence ambitions. According to a Reuters report, the first phase of job cuts is slated to begin on May 20, targeting roughly 10 per cent of Meta’s global workforce. With nearly 79,000 employees on its rolls as of December 31, the move marks one of the company’s most significant workforce reductions in recent years.
And this may only be the beginning. Sources indicate that additional layoffs are being planned for the second half of the year, although the scale and timing remain fluid, likely to be shaped by how Meta’s AI capabilities evolve in the coming months. Earlier reports had suggested that total cuts in 2026 could reach 20 per cent or more of its workforce.
The restructuring comes as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg continues to steer the company towards an AI-first operating model, committing hundreds of billions of dollars to the transition. Internally, this shift is already visible: teams within Reality Labs have been reorganised, engineers have been moved into a newly formed Applied AI unit, and a Meta Small Business division has been created to align with broader structural changes.
The trend is hardly isolated. Across the tech sector, companies are trimming headcount while investing aggressively in automation. Amazon, for instance, has reportedly cut around 30,000 corporate roles nearly 10 per cent of its white-collar workforce citing efficiency gains driven by AI. Data from Layoffs.fyi shows over 73,000 tech employees have already lost jobs this year, compared with 153,000 in all of 2024.
For Meta, the move echoes its earlier “year of efficiency” in 2022–23, when about 21,000 roles were eliminated amid slowing growth and market pressures. This time, however, the backdrop is different. The company is financially stronger, generating over $200 billion in revenue and $60 billion in profit last year, with shares up 3.68 per cent year-to-date though still below last summer’s peak.
That contrast underlines the shift underway. These layoffs are less about survival and more about reinvention. As Meta restructures itself around AI from autonomous coding agents to advanced machine learning systems, the question is no longer whether the company will change, but how many roles will be left unchanged when it does.
