News Broadcasting
Times Network shines light on India’s healthcare revolution at 2025 summit
MUMBAI: It was a healthy dose of optimism and innovation at the Times Network India Health Summit & Awards 2025, where policymakers, doctors, and industry leaders came together to chart the future of Indian healthcare. With 103 winners felicitated, the event celebrated excellence across hospitals, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and health-tech.
Chief guest minister of state for health & family welfare and chemicals & fertilisers government of India Anupriya Patel, set the tone with an inspiring address highlighting how far India’s healthcare system has come and how much further it aims to go.
“India’s healthcare system has undergone a profound transformation,” she said, noting that spending has nearly doubled from 1.1 per cent to 2 per cent of GDP, with the government targeting 2.5 per cent under the National Health Policy 2017. She lauded flagship programmes like Ayushman Bharat PM-Jay, which offers Rs 5 lakh free health coverage to over 62 crore citizens, and Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) IDs, which have already crossed 81 crore registrations.
From doubling the number of medical colleges and Aiims institutions to slashing out-of-pocket healthcare costs, Patel underscored that “these numbers aren’t just statistics, they represent hope, access, and dignity for millions.”
The summit also marked the launch of Times Network’s Hospital Rankings: a data-backed initiative to empower patients with greater transparency and informed choice. The first phase unveiled the All-India top five group of multi specialty hospitals.
With a focus on innovation, accessibility, and preventive care, discussions at the summit spotlighted how AI diagnostics, telemedicine, and collaborative public-private models are redefining India’s healthcare landscape.
Powered by Intas, co-powered by Novartis and All Out, and supported by MGR University, FIT India, Onextel, Nuvama, and Heights, the event reaffirmed one message loud and clear: India’s healthcare revolution isn’t just underway, it’s accelerating.
News Broadcasting
News TV viewership jumps 33 per cent as West Asia war draws audiences
BARC Week 8 data shows news share rising to 8 per cent despite T20 World Cup
NEW DELHI: Even as individual television news channel ratings remain under a temporary pause, the genre itself is seeing a clear surge in audience attention.
According to the latest data from Broadcast Audience Research Council India, television news recorded a 33 per cent jump in genre share in Week 8 of 2026, covering February 28 to March 6.
The news genre accounted for 8 per cent of total television viewership during the week, up from 6 per cent the previous week. The spike in attention coincided with escalating geopolitical tensions involving the United States, Israel and Iran, which have kept global headlines firmly fixed on West Asia.
The rise is notable because it came at a time when cricket was dominating television screens. The high-stakes stages of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, including the Super 8 fixtures and semi-finals, were being broadcast during the same period.
Despite the cricket frenzy, viewers appeared to be toggling between sport and global affairs, boosting the overall share of news programming.
The surge in genre share comes even as the government has enforced a one-month pause on publishing ratings for individual news channels. The move followed regulatory scrutiny of the television ratings ecosystem.
While channel-level rankings remain temporarily out of sight, the genre-level data suggests that when global tensions escalate, audiences continue to turn to television news for real-time updates.
