News Broadcasting
News18 india exposes the murky world of malpractices in hospitals with operation lifeline
MUMBAI: Recently, multiple instances have come to light about top private hospitals fleecing the patients. From overcharging for treatments to referring expensive medicines, many private healthcare facilities have come under the scanner. While the government is taking actions to discourage such malpractices, its vision of corruption free healthcare system is proving to be difficult. News18 India, through its sting operation, has exposed the deceitful practice of earning from medical insurance as well.
News18 India conducted a sting operation targeting private hospitals in NCR like Rama Hospital, Sonipat and Amrapali Hospital, Noida to name a few. The channel’s undercover team of reporters created a storyline of how their wrestler son, who has a medical insurance of 10 lakh rupees, was badly injured and treated in another hospital. While they incurred an expense of Rs. 50,000, they were not able to claim the money through insurance. With this narrative, the team went to various hospitals where the doctors and the management revealed how they can help them claim their money through various nefarious means.
News18 India’s team caught on camera many people talking about how the patients can get their mediclaim from the insurance companies and make money out of it. The doctors will admit the patient for 10 days on papers and will submit expensive bill to the insurance company. The doctors also revealed how they can also include fake diseases and injuries in the insurance claim to make it more realistic. The hospital authorities on camera that the money earned from the claim will then be divided between the patient, the doctors and the mediators.
Though people might think that these fraudulent practices do not affect their health but they forget that they will have to bear the cost of increased premiums if the insurance companies incur losses. Through Operation Lifeline, News18 India’s team reveals how rampant corrupt practices such as these are bound to have negative consequences for the common man. New policies and laws can be made but the ground reality is a far cry from completely solving the corruption issue.
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.
