News Broadcasting
Al Jazeera English exposes India’s baby-making booming industry
MUMBAI: The birth business is thriving in India. Childless couples from around the world are flocking to the country, pinning their hopes on the poor young Indian women willing to bear other people’s babies. Al Jazeera English unveils India’s booming baby-making industry in a special episode of 101 East, a weekly Asian current affairs programming on July 26.
In poverty-plagued India, the thousands of dollars couples pay their surrogates, can open the door to a much brighter future. About 12,000 babies, produced by Indian surrogates, are for Western clients. Al Jazeera English follows the two Australian couples hoping to bring home a “made in India” baby and, the highs and lows of them trying to bring a baby home, the stories of women who give birth to babies they will never know.
“If you are just a critic who feels a childless person should live a life of misery and stay childless throughout their life, or a poor person is meant to remain poor all throughout their life then you’ll consider this as something wrong, as something immoral. A farm. A baby-making factory..” said Dr. Nanya Patel, one of the pioneers of the commercial surrogacy business.
The women and increasingly would-be parents are being exploited as ethics are swept aside in pursuit of profit. But have regulations kept pace with the huge expansion in surrogacy services? Many say this emotionally-charged industry is littered with pitfalls for parents and risks for surrogates. The special episode uncovers the success and failures of India’s surrogacy industry.
Tune into Al Jazeera on Dish TV 618 and Tata Sky Channel 533 to catch the special episode on July 26, 09.00 AM and on July 27, 10.00 PM IST
News Broadcasting
Network18 Q4 revenue grows 9.7 per cent, EBITDA at Rs 30 crore
PAT improves to Rs 306.6 crore, margins steady amid cost pressures.
MUMBAI: Not all news is breaking, some of it is quietly improving. Network18 Media & Investments Limited appears to be doing just that, tightening losses and stabilising margins even as costs continue to weigh on the business. For FY26, the company reported revenue from operations of Rs 1,955.1 crore, up from Rs 1,896.2 crore in FY25, signalling modest top-line growth in a challenging media environment. Total income stood at Rs 1,978.2 crore, compared to Rs 1,913 crore a year earlier.
Profit after tax came in at Rs 306.6 crore for the year, a sharp turnaround from Rs 3,225.4 crore in FY25, largely reflecting the absence of large exceptional items that had inflated the previous year’s numbers. On a more comparable basis, the company’s operating performance showed signs of gradual stabilisation.
However, the quarterly picture remained under pressure. For the March quarter, Network18 reported a loss of Rs 53.1 crore, narrower than the Rs 98.1 crore loss in the same period last year, but still indicative of ongoing cost challenges.
Expenses continued to track high. Total expenses for FY26 stood at Rs 2,235.7 crore, up from Rs 2,197.8 crore in FY25. Key cost heads included operational expenses of Rs 765.9 crore, employee benefits of Rs 475.9 crore, and marketing, distribution and promotional spends of Rs 427.1 crore, underlining the continued investment required to sustain reach and engagement.
At an operating level, margins remained under strain. Operating margin stood at 2.33 per cent for FY26, marginally higher than 1.77 per cent in FY25, while net profit margin remained negative at -13.02 per cent, though improved from -14.89 per cent.
On the balance sheet, total assets rose to Rs 8,957.6 crore as of 31 March 2026, from Rs 8,317.5 crore a year earlier. Equity strengthened to Rs 4,958.7 crore, while borrowings increased to Rs 3,112.8 crore, reflecting a higher reliance on debt to support operations.
Cash flows told a mixed story. While financing activities generated Rs 83.9 crore, operating cash flow remained negative at Rs -24 crore, highlighting ongoing pressure on core cash generation. Cash and cash equivalents, however, improved to Rs 33.9 crore from Rs 1.8 crore.
The numbers point to a company in transition growing revenues, trimming losses, but still grappling with structural cost pressures. In a sector where scale often comes at a price, Network18 seems to be inching towards balance, one quarter at a time.
