News Broadcasting
India at 100: self-reliance must power the next leap, says Vineet Jain
Times Group MD calls for strategic depth across AI, energy, defence and data as India eyes developed status by 2047
NEW DELHI: India’s next act will not be written by growth alone but by grit, capacity and hard-edged self-reliance, Vineet Jain said, setting the tone at the Times Now Summit as the network marked 20 years and turned its gaze to the republic at 100.
Opening the summit, Jain framed the moment as a rare convergence of economic momentum, demographic heft, digital muscle and geopolitical weight. The question, he argued, is no longer what India has become—but what it must still build to meet its 2047 ambition.
The answer, he said, lies in a broader, sharper doctrine of Aatmanirbhar Bharat—one that rejects isolation but demands strength in the sectors that define sovereignty and competitiveness. Self-reliance must stretch well beyond factories into the commanding heights of the century: artificial intelligence, data governance, education, defence, energy, critical minerals, frontier technologies and digital platforms.
Control over data will shape the architecture of the future, Jain noted, while AI will drive productivity, security and knowledge. Energy dependence, he warned, leaves economies hostage to volatile supply chains; access to critical minerals will decide the winners of the green and tech transitions.
India must also stop “importing capability” and invest deeply in human capital, he said, arguing that strategic autonomy is credible only when backed by indigenous strength across defence and technology.
For decades, India was tagged as a nation of promise. That era must give way to execution—reform, institution-building and sustained national focus. The window is finite. “We must grow rich before we grow old,” Jain said, calling it a civilisational urgency as the country seeks to convert its demographic dividend into jobs, skills and productivity gains.
Hitting developed-nation status by 2047 will demand second-generation reforms, more competitive institutions, faster urbanisation and heavier bets on research and innovation, alongside a public discourse that rewards long-term thinking over short-term reaction.
Jain cast the summit as a platform not just to question power but to elevate national purpose—moving from commentary to solutions in what he described as a shared project spanning government, industry and citizens.
The message was blunt and forward-leaning: anniversaries don’t transform nations—ambition and execution do. India’s century mark is in sight; the harder task is building the muscle to meet it.
News Broadcasting
Rajesh Sundaram joins NDTV Profit as senior editor, assignment
The 32-year newsroom veteran has launched channels on three continents and covered everything from 9/11 to South African television
MUMBAI: NDTV Profit has bolstered its newsroom with a hire who has done rather more than most. Rajesh Sundaram, a journalist with over three decades of editorial, managerial and consultative experience across India and international markets, joins as senior editor, assignment, tasked with sharpening the network’s newsgathering and real-time response.
Sundaram’s career reads like a tour of Indian media’s most formative moments. He began at Businessworld in 1994, moved to Zee News as bureau chief across Mumbai and Chennai, then joined NDTV in 2002 as part of its political bureau during a particularly febrile period in Indian politics. A stint as India correspondent for Al Jazeera International followed, where he covered key geopolitical developments and got his first serious taste of the global newsroom.
What sets Sundaram apart, however, is his serial channel-launching habit. At NewsX, he helped get the operation off the ground. At Headlines Today, part of the India Today Group, he served as editor. At News Nation, he helped launch the Hindi news channel and its digital ecosystem. He then crossed continents to lead the launch of ANN7 in South Africa as editor-in-chief, overseeing both television and digital. Back in India, he launched Tamil news channels News7 Tamil and Cauvery News, and later served as principal consultant for the launch of Marathi channel Lokshahi. Most recently, he helped build and lead the Press Trust of India’s video service and content studio, before stints consulting for Business Today and The Himalayan Times.
Rahul Kanwal, chief executive and editor-in-chief of NDTV, left little doubt about what Sundaram is expected to deliver. “The assignment desk is where a newsroom’s intent becomes action,” he said. “Rajesh brings a rare combination of field experience and leadership in building news operations at scale.”
Sundaram has reported from across India and the world, covering elections, civil conflicts, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 US presidential election.
At NDTV Profit, he will lead the assignment desk, driving editorial coordination and real-time response across markets and breaking developments. For a business news network sharpening its focus on speed and multi-platform delivery, it has hired a man who has built newsrooms from scratch on three continents. The assignment desk is in good hands.
