News Broadcasting
News Nation Budget Conclave: grids of reforms for new India’s $5-trillion economy
MUMBAI: News Nation hosted a mega event decoding how the Modi Sarkar will achieve the Herculean task of $5-trillion economic growth.
Spread over four sessions, eminent speakers such as Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar and veteran journalist Gautam Chikarmane dissected the finer points of the most important event in India’s fiscal calendar.
Day after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her maiden Union Budget for the second term of the Narendra Modi government, News Nation on Saturday hosted a mega event decoding how the Modi Sarkar will achieve the Herculean task of $5-trillion economic growth. Spread over four sessions, eminent speakers such as Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar and veteran journalist Gautam Chikarmane dissected the finer points of the most important event in India’s fiscal calendar.
In the first session, talking to News Nation’s Deepak Chaurasia, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that, “There will be ‘magical’ growth in India in next five years.” Highlighting the national water and road grid framework, Gadkari said that, "The allocation for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has been increased to Rs 83,016 crore in the budget as against Rs 71,000 crore in 2018-19 which was revised to Rs 78,625.50 crore".
On promoting electric vehicles, Gadkari said the main objective of phase-II of FAME scheme approved by the Cabinet is to have cost effective vehicle system and curb pollution. “We need to develop a cost effective, pollution free and indigenous transport system,” he said. GST for electric vehicles has been reduced to 5 per cent whether they are three wheelers, four wheelers or two wheelers. This can help us making leader in electric vehicle manufacturing unit.
In second session, MoSfinance Anurag Thakur said that the focus of Modi government is to renew the fight against corruption. He also lauded the Centre’s special initiatives that have lessened the corruption in corporate sector. "Jo brasht hai, usse kasht hoga, " Thakur said. "Government proposed a 100 percent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance intermediaries in the Union Budget 2019. Less than 3.5 crore people used to pay tax earlier. It is only because PM Modi's efforts that the taxpayers have doubled," Thakur added.
The third session of experts discussed about the new ways how India can achieve holistic growth. The experts included MK Venu, Sachin Chaturvedi and NC Saxena.
Chaturvedi said that infrastructure is expanding in the country, this shows governments commitment towards development. BJP's spokesperson Zafar Islam said that the government delivered in the last five years, we will continue the development work. Attacking the Modi government, Saxena said that, “Rate of growth of bottom 50 per cent need to be looked into. There’s a need to increase number of doctors and nurses in rural areas. Agrarian distress needs our immediate attention. Total number of jobs have gone down. Section of society jobless. Women empowerment overlooked this budget,” Saxena added.
In last session, Niti Aayog’s Rajiv Kumar gave an optimistic tune to the exercise, saying there are many sectors in which we can easily achieve double digit growth. The economist said the government's focus is on 8.4 per cent growth and to maintain it further just like China maintained it for nearly 30 years between 1978 and 2005. During the time, China maintained a stable economic growth of 9.6.
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.
