ITV

Category: News Headline

  • Tiger tackles Kabaddi fever as JioStar amps up Season 12 campaign

    Tiger tackles Kabaddi fever as JioStar amps up Season 12 campaign

    MUMBAI: When Tiger Shroff says “Ghus Kar Maarenge,” you know things are about to get physical on screen and on the mat. JioStar has dropped the second film of its high-octane Pro Kabaddi League Season 12 campaign, and the action star brings all the grit and swagger that mirrors kabaddi’s raw intensity.

    Conceptualised by Zerofifty, the cinematic spot kicks off with Tiger facing down a mob of hostile neighbours at his gates. Instead of flinching, he walks out with a kabaddi player’s composure, serving up a line as fierce as a raid: “Ghus kar maarne ki baatein toh sab karte hain, par yahaan hum kar ke dikhate hain” (everyone talks of attacking, but here we do it and prove it).

    The campaign, titled “Ghus Kar Maarenge,” doubles down on the league’s promise of fearless aggression and edge-of-the-seat drama. Released in Hindi and Marathi, the film highlights that kabaddi is not about bravado, it’s about backing it up, move for move.

    “This is going to be the most exciting season of Pro Kabaddi League yet,” a JioStar spokesperson said, pointing to format changes and new rules designed to guarantee a result in every clash. “Tiger Shroff was the perfect face to embody this season’s intensity.”

    For Tiger, the campaign is personal: “Kabaddi is raw, real, and Indian to the core. It’s not just strength but fearless conviction, and I can’t wait to see India’s toughest athletes rise again.”

    Season 12 kicks off on 29 August 2025 with a southern derby between Telugu Titans and Tamil Thalaivas, broadcast live on JioHotstar and Star Sports Network. With a new format, guaranteed outcomes, and Tiger leading the war cry, the mat is set for kabaddi’s fiercest showdown yet.

  • Kalli Purie urges RSS to boost women’s role in leadership at book launch

    Kalli Purie urges RSS to boost women’s role in leadership at book launch

    MUMBAI: When Kalli Purie took the mic, she made sure the Sangh heard more than just polite applause. Speaking in the presence of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat at the launch of Tan Samarpit, Man Samarpit, a biography of swayamsevak Ramesh Prakash India Today group vice chairperson called for women to find stronger footing in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s leadership structures.

    Purie praised the Sangh’s famed simplicity, discipline, and its unusual ability for century-long planning, referencing its centennial blueprint and Panch Parivartan vision. But she also pushed the envelope, noting that corruption must not be normalised as “a way of life”. She spotlighted India Today’s experiment with Gross Domestic Behaviour (GDB), a metric designed to gauge civic discipline, inclusivity, gender balance, and attitudes towards corruption.

    Her candour drew a direct response from the Sarsanghchalak himself. Bhagwat stressed that true social transformation cannot come from ideas alone: “Knowledge is not enough. Change comes only when it reflects in the swayamsevak’s life through discipline, example, and practice.”

    On the question of women’s representation, he pointed to the Rashtra Sevika Samiti, the women’s wing founded in 1936, which he described as running in parallel to the RSS. “Wherever there are swayamsevaks, women are alongside,” he said, adding that in many regions, women are invited into core meetings, their proposals are included, and their role in decision-making is expanding. “Fifty per cent of society cannot be kept outside,” he underlined, while noting that processes differ across states, which he framed as a mark of the Sangh’s evolving nature.

    Yet Bhagwat also added a note of balance: “Rashtra seva should never come at the cost of family duties. The two are complementary, not contradictory.”

    Between Purie’s call for parity and Bhagwat’s emphasis on gradual adaptation, the evening turned into more than just a book launch, it became a mirror to the Sangh’s ongoing conversation about gender, governance, and the path to social change.

  • Central government drives Bind scheme with Rs 2,539 crore push

    Central government drives Bind scheme with Rs 2,539 crore push

    NEW DELHI: India’s public broadcasters are in the middle of their most ambitious revamp in decades. The government told Parliament this week that its Broadcasting Infrastructure and Network Development (Bind) scheme — approved for 2021–26 with an outlay of Rs 2,539.61 crore — is advancing on schedule, with close to Rs 981 crore already spent.

    The five-year programme is designed to modernise Doordarshan and Akashvani (All India Radio) with digital transmission, high-definition studios, new FM towers and a wider footprint in border, tribal and left-wing extremism–affected regions. The ministry said no major funds have lapsed, though procurement delays occasionally slowed spending, now being addressed through tighter monitoring.

    One of Bind’s biggest successes is the expansion of DD Free Dish, India’s only free-to-air DTH service. Channel count has surged from 104 in 2019 to 510 today, including 92 private broadcasters, 50 Doordarshan services and 320 educational channels. Popular Akashvani stations such as FM Gold, Rainbow and Vividh Bharati are also available on the platform, making free access to information and entertainment more widely available.

    Akashvani’s terrestrial coverage now spans 90 per cent of India’s geography and 98 per cent of its population. Alongside its traditional FM network, more than 260 AIR channels are now accessible through the NewsonAIR mobile app. To further strengthen reach, 59 new FM transmitters have been approved under the scheme.

    In parallel, Prasar Bharati has entered the OTT space with Waves, launched in 2024. The digital platform aggregates infotainment, news, education and cultural content, and integrates feeds from Doordarshan and AIR. Officials say Waves is helping extend public broadcasting to younger, mobile-first audiences and to Indians overseas.

    The Bind scheme, covering all states, represents an attempt to reposition public service broadcasting in a hyper-fragmented media market.

    For New Delhi, the strategy is as much about access as it is about influence — ensuring that public broadcasting reaches underserved communities while competing with private players on technology and content.

     

  • Vedika Sud joins NDTV 24×7 as consulting editor

    Vedika Sud joins NDTV 24×7 as consulting editor

    NEW DELHI:  NDTV 24×7 has roped in veteran journalist Vedika Sud as consulting editor, marking the return of one of south Asia’s most recognised broadcast reporters to the Indian news landscape. Sud, who most recently served as CNN International’s bureau chief for India and South Asia, brings nearly two decades of frontline reporting experience spanning crises, conflicts and political transitions across the region.

    At CNN, Sud was the network’s editorial lead across India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan, working closely with global desks and appearing on flagship programmes with anchors including Jake Tapper, Wolf Blitzer and Erin Burnett. She covered the India–Pakistan conflict following the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, the G20 climate and geopolitical negotiations, the India–Myanmar refugee crisis, the farmers’ protests, and Delhi’s landfill investigations exposing the intersection of environment and public health. Her on-the-ground reportage during the 2021 Delta wave of Covid, from overwhelmed hospitals to the desperate hunt for oxygen, earned international recognition for its clarity and compassion.

    Before CNN, Sud anchored prime bulletins at the India Today group, oversaw fast-paced editorial operations at NewsX and built her early career at Times Now, where she transitioned from producing political segments to fronting live broadcasts on elections, terror attacks and civic issues.

    Her work has won accolades including an honourable mention at the 2024 Society of Publishers in Asia Awards for reporting on women’s issues and a finalist slot at the South Asian Journalists Association Awards in 2021. An alumna of Sophia College, Mumbai, she also holds a diploma in social communications media and a graduate certificate in public policy from the Takshashila Institution.

    NDTV’s chief executive and editor-in-chief Rahul Kanwal called Sud “an interpreter of meaning, not just a witness to events,” saying her global perspective would sharpen NDTV’s mission to deliver rigorous, contextual journalism in a crowded and noisy news environment.

    Sud said she was drawn to NDTV’s legacy of explanatory reporting. “The most powerful stories don’t simply tell you what happened — they explain why it matters and who it matters to. In an age of endless headlines, our responsibility is to cut through the noise and connect the dots for the public,” she said.

    Her appointment comes as NDTV, one of India’s oldest English news broadcasters, seeks to reinforce its editorial heft under new ownership. With Sud joining its leadership ranks, the channel is signalling a renewed commitment to fact-based reporting and nuanced analysis at a time when credibility in Indian television journalism is under sharper scrutiny than ever.

  • HDFC Ergo twins up with Consumr.ai to insure AI-driven customer journeys

    HDFC Ergo twins up with Consumr.ai to insure AI-driven customer journeys

    MUMBAI: Insurance just found its digital double. HDFC Ergo has roped in Consumr.ai, India’s next-gen customer intelligence platform, to pilot a proof-of-concept (POC) that could transform how policyholders experience insurance from the first ad to the final claim. The partnership was sealed after Consumr.ai emerged as one of four winners of Techpreneur Season 2, an innovation programme that drew over 140 AI and tech companies worldwide. Winners were picked through a rigorous evaluation by leaders from BCG, Google, HDFC Ergo and Ergo International.

    At the centre of the POC lies Consumr.ai’s proprietary AI Twins technology virtual doppelgängers of consumer cohorts built on real behavioural data. These AI-powered twins simulate how different audiences respond to creative campaigns, products, and messages, enabling “always-on” customer-informed decision-making. In other words, it helps HDFC Ergo keep the customer firmly in the driver’s seat of every marketing, product, and creative choice.

    The POC will tap into deterministic behavioural data from hundreds of millions of global users via integrations with Meta, Google, DV360, Linkedin, Snap, and Amazon. HDFC Ergo’s own first-party data can also be securely onboarded, anonymised at cohort level, and modelled into AI Twins, all while maintaining full GDPR and CCPA compliance and without ingesting personally identifiable information.

    Consumr.ai co-founder Vivek Bhargava said: “Our AI Twins technology transforms real behavioural data into actionable intelligence that enables real-time personalisation at scale. This aligns perfectly with HDFC Ergo’s vision of a digitally agile, customer-first future.”

    On successful completion, the POC could be scaled across HDFC Ergo’s business lines, distribution channels, and even new frontiers such as influencer marketing, regional positioning, and voice-of-customer programmes. The model could also be replicated for Ergo International’s global markets, turning the Indian POC into a global insurance playbook.

    Consumr.ai already has a strong BFSI track record, having deployed AI Twins for Rustomjee, Aditya Birla Insurance, and even a Fortune 100 US insurer. With HDFC ERGO in the mix, the three-year-old platform has doubled down on its mission to be the innovation engine powering the insurance industry’s leap into the future.

  • Hero MotoCorp appoints Latika Taneja to lead communications, corporate affairs and CSR

    Hero MotoCorp appoints Latika Taneja to lead communications, corporate affairs and CSR

    MUMBAI: Hero MotoCorp has strengthened its leadership bench with the appointment of Latika Taneja as head of corporate communications, corporate affairs and CSR. In her new role, she will be responsible for shaping the company’s brand narrative, deepening stakeholder trust and advancing its agenda of purposeful and sustainable growth.

    Taneja brings more than two decades of experience in building reputations for multinational corporations across energy, financial services, technology and insurance. She joins Hero MotoCorp from Shell, where she spent over three years leading corporate relations across government affairs, communications and sustainability. Prior to that, she held senior mandates at Mastercard, including director of public policy and government relations for South Asia and head of corporate communications.

    Her earlier career spans stints at DuPont, where she managed external and leadership communications across South Asia; Alcatel-Lucent India, where she developed integrated marketing campaigns; and MetLife, where she ran corporate communications for India. She began her career at Genesis Burson-Marsteller, supporting clients on insurance and financial services.

    Hero MotoCorp said Taneja’s appointment reflects the company’s sharpened focus on long-term value creation, stronger governance and broader stakeholder engagement as the mobility sector undergoes rapid transformation.

    Known for her passion for policy, partnerships and sustainability, Taneja has consistently worked at the intersection of communications, corporate affairs and social responsibility. Her remit at Hero MotoCorp will include aligning the brand’s voice with its strategy for an evolving global mobility ecosystem, while reinforcing its reputation with regulators, partners and customers.

    The company added that her leadership will play a critical role in energising its ESG commitments, strengthening corporate responsibility initiatives and amplifying Hero MotoCorp’s global brand positioning.

  • Jack in the Box Worldwide and Tidal7 merge to form J7

    Jack in the Box Worldwide and Tidal7 merge to form J7

    MUMBAI:  Independent agencies Jack in the Box Worldwide and Tidal7 have sealed a merger, creating a new entity called J7 that aspires to be a “future-ready” marketing powerhouse. The combined agency will pool strengths in creative storytelling, branding, data intelligence and technology-led marketing to deliver integrated solutions for clients in India and beyond.

    Jack in the Box Worldwide, founded by Roopak Saluja, has built its reputation on social media campaigns, design and consumer research. Tidal7, launched by Venkat Mallik, carved out its niche with data-driven branding, digital analytics and multi-channel creative services. Together, the two outfits aim to position J7 as a partner that can blend cultural insight with measurable business outcomes.

    “This is a major inflection point in Jack in the Box Worldwide’s trajectory,” said Saluja, who will continue as founder and chairman. “By joining forces with Tidal7, we are enhancing our culture of creativity with world-class data intelligence and strategic depth. J7 is not just a new name — it is a manifestation of our shared commitment to solving our clients’ most complex challenges.”

    Mallik, who becomes J7’s founder and chief executive, underlined the agency’s growth ambitions: “We have always believed that the most powerful marketing solutions emerge when brand thinking, creativity and data intelligence work hand-in-hand. With J7, that belief takes on a new dimension. The aim is not just to create campaigns but to build growth ecosystems for clients, empower teams with advanced tools and lead in an AI-driven future.”

    J7 will place particular emphasis on AI-led innovation, new media formats and tech-integrated tools. Plans are under way to expand service offerings, develop industry-specific solutions and pursue growth both within India and overseas.

    Team J7

    The leadership bench will include Farhatnaz Ansari as managing partner, Sivaram Subramaniam as executive creative director and Vikram Srivastava as director of data and strategy. Both agencies’ existing clients will continue to be served without disruption, now aligned under the J7 vision.

    By marrying Jack in the Box Worldwide’s creative flair with Tidal7’s analytical rigour, J7 is betting that the next era of advertising belongs to agencies that can move as fast as technology — and as imaginatively as culture.

  • Credit where it’s due Delhi tops Paisabazaar’s most credit healthy cities

    Credit where it’s due Delhi tops Paisabazaar’s most credit healthy cities

    MUMBAI: Looks like Delhiites aren’t just keeping up with the Joneses, they’re paying them back on time too. According to Paisabazaar’s insights report “How India Checked Credit Score”, the capital has emerged as India’s most credit-healthy city, with 46 per cent of its consumers scoring well and an average score of 746.

    Close on its heels is Pune, where 44 per cent of participants posted an average of 744, while Kerala (43 per cent at 745) and Chandigarh (43 per cent at 744) round off the top credit-conscious quartet. The findings were drawn from the Credit Premier League (CPL), a gamified contest that saw a whopping 4.7 million participants from 710 cities track and test their financial fitness over 30 days.

    The competition wasn’t just about averages, it also produced some standout high scores. Five participants from Bangalore, Jaipur, Lucknow, Kerala and Pune touched 861 out of 900, the highest in the country, while a Chennai contestant followed closely with 859.

    Interestingly, the most active cities weren’t the healthiest ones Mumbai, Hyderabad and Lucknow together clocked nearly 1.5 million participants. More than half of all players came from the millennial bracket (29–44 years), highlighting just how deeply younger Indians are engaging with financial health.

    Women may have been fewer in number, making up just 8 per cent of participants, but they left a mark too, one-third hailed from southern cities such as Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. Adding to the fun was a quirky Ghibli-style selfie feature that allowed participants to generate animated selfies showcasing their credit scores, sparking a social media wave of “score-sharing”.

    “Consumers are engaging with their credit health like never before,” said Paisabazaar CEO Santosh Agarwal adding that CPL has helped make conversations around financial fitness truly mainstream.

    From quirky selfies to sky-high scores, the Credit Premier League has proved one thing, when it comes to money matters, India is ready to play the long game.

  • Malayalam medical drama Pharma to premiere on JioHotstar

    Malayalam medical drama Pharma to premiere on JioHotstar

    MUMBAI: Malayalam star Nivin Pauly is set to headline Pharma, his first streaming series, which will soon premiere on JioHotstar. Inspired by true events, the medical drama charts the turbulent life of K. P. Vinod, a pharmaceutical sales rep.

    The show also marks the comeback of Hindi cinema  veteran Rajit Kapur to Malayalam cinema after 10 years. Directed by P. R. Arun and produced by Krishnan Sethukumar under the Moviee Mill banner, Pharma boasts a strong ensemble with Binu Pappu, Narain, Muthumani, Shruti Ramachandran, Veena Nandakumar and Aalekh Kapoor.

    Cinematographer Abinandhan Ramanujam and editor Sreejith Sarang bring a polished visual style to the series, promising viewers a taut, immersive ride.

     

  • Power play Delhi hosts grand finale of News18 Sheshakti 2025

    Power play Delhi hosts grand finale of News18 Sheshakti 2025

    MUMBAI: When women take the wheel, the road to Bharat’s future looks smoother and far more inclusive. After a dazzling debut in Mumbai, News18 Sheshakti 2025, presented by Lions International, is set for its grand finale in New Delhi on August 21 under the theme “From Breaking Barriers to Building Bharat”.

    What began as a regional showcase has quickly grown into one of India’s most anticipated forums for female leadership. The third national edition will see over 30 trailblazers from policymakers and entrepreneurs to actors, athletes, and activists sharing how they’re not just breaking ceilings but laying down the foundation for a stronger, self-reliant India.

    The power-packed speaker line-up reads like a roll call of influence: Delhi CM Rekha Gupta, former union minister Smriti Irani, British high commissioner Lindy Cameron, JNU vice-chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, Supreme Court justice Hima Kohli, actors Kriti Sanon and Sanya Malhotra, playback legend Kavita Krishnamurti, racing driver Mira Erda, and Surgeon Vice Admiral Arti Sarin, among others. From boardrooms to battlefields, campuses to concert halls, the conversations promise to span every frontier.

    The scale matches the ambition. The initiative has already clocked two impactful national editions, with the 2025 Mumbai showcase marking the start of its 25th anniversary celebrations. Now, the capital takes centre stage as women from across industries share stories of innovation, grit, and transformation whether it’s shaping policy, building businesses, enabling grassroots change, or disrupting global sectors like AI, defence and healthcare.

    “News18 Sheshakti has always been a platform to celebrate, empower and elevate dynamic women,” said Network18 (broadcast) CEO Avinash Kaul. His colleague Network18 Group chief strategy officer Puneet Singhvi added that women today are “leading in business, sports, education and beyond shaping New Bharat with inclusivity, compassion, and courage.”

    From 11 AM on 21 August, the stage will be buzzing with bold voices and big visions. If Mumbai was the warm-up act, Delhi promises the full crescendo, an ode to the women scripting Bharat’s next chapter, one breakthrough at a time.