News Broadcasting
Star News spot on with exit poll predictions
MUMBAI: While the general Lok Sabha elections exit polls proved disastrous for all news channels, the Maharastra assembly elections have seen a definite improvement on the prediction front for most news channels. Star News however, can take the most credit for being close to spot on with the results.
After being rapped earlier in the year for misreading the voters’ mood during the Lok Sabha polls, most seem to have got their act together. Star News on 13 October predicted at the end of balloting that the ruling Congress-National Congress Party (NCP) alliance would get 142 seats and the Sena-BJP alliance would bag 122 seats in the 288-seat assembly. Competitor channels on the other hand in an attempt to cover their base predicted an upper and lower limit range. Zee News was the only other news channel, apart from Star stuck its neck out and gave a straight number (Congress-NCP 125 versus Sena-BJP’s 115).
The Maharashtra assembly results out on Saturday showed the ruling alliance won 140 seats with the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena combine lagging behind with 118 seats and others and independents with 30.
Speaking to indiantelevision.com, Star News’ CEO Uday Shanker gushes, “We took some corrective measures after the last Lok Sabha elections in consent with our research agency AC Neilson. One, is that we enhanced our sample size as well as covered many more constituencies which accounted for more than 1/3rd of the entire constituencies. Secondly, we also took some statistically corrective measures in an attempt to weed out the divergent trends.”
Interestingly, news channels got a lot of flak during the Lok Sabha elections as politicians made a huge hue and cry about exit polls being grossly off track and misguiding the general sentiment of the people. Shankar adds, “This is not only good news for us but also for the entire broadcast news fraternity as it re-establishes the value of psephological predictions from a news channel’s point of view.”
Exit Poll Predictions released on 13 October:
News channel
Congress-NCP
BJP-Shiv Sena
BSP & others
Star News
142
122
24
Headlines Today
140 -50
100-110
30-40
Zee News
125
115
48
NDTV
125-135
120-130
30-45
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.
