News Broadcasting
Zee Telefilms to launch two more FTA channels
NEW DELHI: The Subhash Chandra-promoted Zee Telefilms is very bullish on certain aspects of conditional access system (CAS) and feels that it is rightly positioned to take advantage of the evolving scenario in the country. On cue, it has decided to launch two other channels in the free to air mode.
“The company would be launching two more channels soon,” Zee Telefilms director, news group, Laxmi Goel told indiantelevision.com. Though he did not give a time frame for the launch, Goel did admit that the two proposed channels would be free to air.
India’s largest vertically integrated media company would come out with Zee Manasi, primarily targeted at women, and Zee Comedy, which, as the name suggests, would serve comic or light fare. Details on the two proposed channels were not available.
Industry experts felt that though the two proposed channels look like niche products, going by the sketchy information available on them, launching them in the free to air mode is surprising. Niche channels, experts felt, would work better as part of a DTH bouquet or may even work for the headend in the sky model (HITS) through which Zee is aiming at introducing CAS in a digital mode.
But Zee’s plans to launch by mid-year a business news channel, Zee Biz, seems to have got stuck in bureaucratic hurdles. While information and broadcasting minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told indiantelevision today that the relevant file on Zee Biz had not yet reached him, officials in the ministry maintain that Zee Telefilms would have to undergo restructuring as per the new uplinking policy if it wished to get permission for uplinking the proposed business news channel from India.
“The case of Zee’s business channel is being studied in the view of the new uplinking policy,” a senior government official had told indiantelevision.com few days back.
As per the new uplinking policy by the Indian government, news channels desirous of uplinking from India cannot have more than 26 per cent foreign holding.
The likes of Star News and CNBC India were given 90 days to comply with the regulation and it was understood that Zee News, since it already uplinked directly to a broadcast satellite from India, was to get a year’s time to undergo restructuring to fulfil the norms. In Zee Telefilms, the total foreign holding is over the prescribed level at the moment.
Meanwhile, the Zee Tele scrip today closed lower by 3.86 per cent or Rs 3.20 at Rs 79.80 with volumes of 3,665,506 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
According to a CNBC India analysis, the Zee scrip had been rising since last Tuesday, when it closed at Rs 78.20. But the stock reversed the trend yesterday to close lower at Rs 83. It hit a high of Rs 105.25 on 10 January, and a low of Rs 60.15 on 31 March 2003.
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.
