News Broadcasting
UTV makes three new appointments
MUMBAI: Moving to fill the vacancies made by some recent exits, Ronnie Screwvala’s UTV has appointed Venugopal Chandrashekar as director channel management, Tina Kapoor (ex-Hungama) as creative director and Pervez Quadir as creative consultant.
Chandrashekar, who joins UTV on 16 August; has a job role that includes servicing channels, ideating closely with the creative team and strategizing on retaining eyeballs on programming content. He will primarily be looking after a top line general entertainment channel as well as south based channels. The details of the channels have not been divulged.
Chandrashekar had his last day yesterday at Contract Advertising where he was account direct. Calling himself a Contract veteran, Chandrashekar has had extensive experience in servicing in the last 12 years. In Contract, Chandrashekar worked on international and national accounts like Asian paints, Baja Auto, Philips lighting, Heinz, Shoppers stop, ICICI BANK, BPCL and Allianze Bajaj, to name a few.
Queried by indiantelevision.com as to what value addition he is going to bring UTV, Chandrashekar states, “In the advertising arena, one has a very structured and insightful methodology that one works by. Production houses, still are not so researched and scientific in their approach, hence this will be primarily where I will be contributing and adding value to UTV.”
Why UTV? Chadrashekar elucidates, “The television industry is exploding and I have always been very passionate about entertainment, movies and music. Secondly, UTV have their plans in place and are also a very ambitious production house, and nothing like being with a company that you can connect to in terms of the same goals.”
Interestingly, Tina Kapoor who was with Hungama for the last five months as creative director and who incidentally put in her papers a few weeks ago, is now joining UTV as creative director starting 26 July. Kapoor will primarily be managing new shows. Kapoor will have four shows under her charge to begin with — two fiction shows for Star India’s soon to be launched “upend” channel Star One, a lifestyle show for Times Television and a fiction show for Sony Entertainment.
Talking about her entry into UTV, Kapoor voices, “It’s going to be a lot of fun considering the big plans UTV has in the offing. I have always worked with a channel before (earlier stints with B4U and MTV) and this is my first time with a production house. I see a very bright future here.”
Another development is the appointment of Pervez Quadir as creative consultant. Quadir, who has made a name for himself in Indipop and is well known in the entertainment industry, has already begun work as a creative distrupter (one who analyses paradigm shifts as well as spots emerging trends in television).
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.
