iWorld
Shobit Arora rejoins Network 18
MUMBAI: A group sales head at CNBC TV18, CNN18 and CNBC Awaaz for the northern region for nearly two years in 2019. Now Shobit Arora has come back to his alma mater as national head connected TV for the same three channels -building them across streaming devices and platforms.
Shobit who believes heavily in education earned his BA and MA in economics from Guru Nanak Dev university, and followed those up with his MBA in finance from IIPM. He then joined Bennett Coleman & Co where he worked for nine years rising up to become manager.
What followed was his transition to TV with stints BTVi as senior manager north sales (2017-2019, CNBC TV18 (2019-Dec 2020) and India Today (AGM- connected TV, April 2022-August 2023.
Shobit then made a surprising move by joining Oracle as a senior enterprise account manager for a short period of six months. After that, he rejoined India Today as DGM -connected TV (February 2024-December 2024), following which he got the call from Network18 to head the national connected TV business for the three channels.
Shobit likes to keep himself updated on new tech and has done a smorgasbord of courses: Linkedin Learning’s CMO Foundations Measuring Marketing Effectiveness RoI, NIIT’s Google Adwords Certification, Digital marketing workshops and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure 2023 AI certified Foundations Associate course.
All these should come handy as he takes the three channels he has charge of into new frontiers.
iWorld
Airtel bets big on digital lending with Rs 20,000 Cr NBFC push
Telecom giant aims to transform India’s credit scene with a high-scale NBFC plan
NEW DELHI: Bharati Airtel is taking a bold step into the financial world. The telecom giant has announced plans to supercharge its Non-Banking Financial Company, Airtel Money Limited, with a whopping Rs 20,000 crore over the coming years.
Airtel will fund 70 per cent of the capital, with the remaining 30 per cent coming from the promoter group via Bharti Enterprises Limited. The move is designed to narrow India’s credit gap and bring simple, secure digital lending to more consumers.
The company is not starting from scratch. Its existing digital lending platform has already disbursed over Rs 9,000 crore, backed by smart underwriting, disciplined portfolio management, and real-time risk monitoring. With 500 plus data scientists and robust analytics, Airtel claims it has built one of the country’s most trusted lending service provider models.
Bharti Airtel executive vice chairman Gopal Vittal said, “Our success over the past two years shows how technology, data, and customer trust can create impact at a national scale. With this NBFC expansion, we aim to build a future-ready digital lending business that stands for trust, innovation, and inclusion.”
Airtel Money received its NBFC licence from the Reserve Bank of India on 13 February 2026. The expansion taps into India’s fast-growing financial sector, where formal credit accounts for just 53 per cent of GDP, highlighting huge room for growth.
The NBFC’s operations will integrate seamlessly with Airtel’s existing lending platform, keeping processes clear for customers while delivering a smooth experience. By leveraging its vast telecom customer base, Airtel aims to set a new benchmark in digital financial services and make lending accessible, simple, and reliable.
The Reserve Bank of India has noted that while Airtel Money has a valid registration certificate, it does not guarantee the company’s financial soundness or the repayment of liabilities.
