News Broadcasting
News18 launches Google Progressive Web Apps in Hindi and Bengali
MUMBAI: News18, India’s leading destination for news with more than 100 million active viewers per month, has worked with the Google team in India to launch Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) in Hindi and Bengali. For the uninitiated, PWAs are unique Google products that combine the best qualities of apps and websites. So while consumers may be on the https://hindi.news18.com website on their smartphones, via the Google Chrome browser, the website will have the look, feel and functionality of an app. PWAs are much lighter than other apps, they load much faster, consume much less data and storage and are therefore accessible to wider audiences.
News18 offers content in nine regional languages, in addition to English and Hindi, in order to cater to the diverse Indian audience. “With the exponential growth that the Indian market has seen in content consumption and engagement on mobile, it is important that our products deliver our experiences to every relevant user. Given the accessibility that our multi-lingual coverage offers, our technology is now aligned to the same vision of democratising access to news,” said Mitul Sangani, Business Head, News18 Languages.
With 80% of News18’s audiences accessing the information on their smartphones, these state-of-the-art PWAs ensure speed of access and reliability under poor network conditions and enhance user engagement. Network18’s Chief Product Officer Avinash Mudaliar confirms that the Hindi PWA, which was released first, has driven significant improvements in performance and consumer behaviour. He said, “Better load times have enabled us to provide a superior user experience. The proof is in the numbers. Users are spending more time on our pages, and engaging more with our content.”
PWAs also offer the ability for users to subscribe to the publisher’s push notifications. Over 3 lakh users have subscribed to News18 Hindi’s push notifications since it was launched.
Manish Maheshwari, Network18 Digital CEO said, “Progressive web applications have shown a lot of potential in improving access to quality content in the Indian market. Network18 Digital is one of the largest digital publishers in India, with over two dozen properties across formats in all major Indian languages. Given the success of the News18 Hindi PWA, we rolled out another one in Bengali and will be rolling out more of our other properties in the months to come.”
News Broadcasting
WITT Summit 2026 concludes in New Delhi
Babar Azam’s comical diving attempt goes viral as league introduces anti-dew measures.
MUMBAI: The WITT Summit just wrapped up with enough big ideas to fill a policy playbook because when India’s leaders, thinkers and icons gather under one roof, even the conversations hit sixes. The eighth edition of TV9 Network’s flagship What India Thinks Today (WITT) Summit 2026 concluded on Saturday after two days of dynamic discussions at its New Delhi venue. India’s largest multi-domain public policy and culture summit brought together political leaders, policymakers, sports icons, artists and technology innovators to examine the forces shaping contemporary India and its global standing.
Prime minister Narendra Modi delivered the keynote address on the theme “India and the World” for the third consecutive year. In a wide-ranging speech, he addressed the ongoing conflict in West Asia, calling for restraint and compassion while highlighting India’s continued development trajectory despite global turmoil.
The summit featured candid conversations with state leaders. Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy articulated a people-first governance model and contrasted it with other development approaches. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav declared that Left-wing extremism had been effectively eliminated in his state and highlighted preparations for the upcoming Kumbh Mela. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann defended his government’s record, citing the closure of 19 toll plazas and creation of the Sadak Suraksha Force. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar expressed confidence in Congress prospects in Assam and addressed recent allegations against him.
On geopolitics and national security, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia outlined India’s ambition to become a builder of trusted digital infrastructure for the world, citing the rapid 5G rollout and village-level 4G connectivity.
Cricket received significant attention. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly praised player freedom and trust as hallmarks of great leadership and named MS Dhoni as the greatest captain due to his World Cup successes. India women’s team bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi credited the BCCI and Women’s Premier League for building a pipeline of world-class talent behind the team’s recent ODI World Cup triumph.
The summit also hosted the inaugural AI² Awards 2026, celebrating the convergence of human creativity and machine intelligence in storytelling and content creation. Poet and kathavachak Kumar Vishwas delivered a nuanced take on India’s concept of Dharma and criticised the recent arrest of an 80-year-old Shankaracharya. Veteran lyricist Sameer Anjaan and storyteller Neelesh Misra reflected on changing music trends and artistic responsibility in the wake of a recent controversy involving Nora Fatehi.
In a country where conversations often run as deep as the Ganges, the WITT Summit proved once again that when leaders, thinkers and storytellers come together, the real winner is public discourse lively, layered and refreshingly unafraid to tackle the big questions shaping India’s tomorrow.
