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Category: News Headline

  • NDTV gets alive and kicking with new events vertical

    NDTV gets alive and kicking with new events vertical

    MUMBAI: In a bold foray into the live entertainment business, New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) on Tuesday said its board has approved the launch of a new vertical titled NDTV Alive, aimed at capitalising on India’s booming events market. From ticketed spectacles to high-octane public experiences, the Adani-owned broadcaster is stepping beyond the newsroom and into the arena. The company announced this through a regulatory filing with the Bombay stock exchange earlier today. 

    To steer this fresh initiative, NDTV has brought in media veteran Rahul Kumar Shaw as chief experience officer. Shaw, who has clocked over three decades across heavyweights such as Star India, Zee Entertainment, SET India, and TV Today Network, joins with immediate effect and will also serve as senior management personnel.
    NDTV Alive will focus on experiential formats, a strategic move the company claims will “diversify revenue” and solidify its entertainment footprint. Investments will vary depending on artist fees, production costs, marketing, ticketing, and insurance – but the ambition is unmistakable.

    Shaw previously headed Stage AajTak, the experiential arm of TV Today, and is known for orchestrating immersive formats across TV, radio, and sport. A commerce graduate from Calcutta University, he is expected to bring his flair for content-meets-commerce to the new vertical.

    While NDTV has not disclosed a fixed capital infusion, insiders say the venture signals a wider push under the Adani umbrella to reimagine legacy media assets for a more interactive age.

  • Vodafone and Cyient roll out AI-fuelled solution to smarten up global network ops

    Vodafone and Cyient roll out AI-fuelled solution to smarten up global network ops

    MUMBAI: In a world where telecom towers are smarter than traffic lights and data is the new diesel, Vodafone and Cyient have thrown their collective tech muscle behind Vismon — an AI-powered Network Configuration Management platform poised to give network chaos a serious boot.

    Unveiled on June 24 in Hyderabad, the platform is already showing signs of transforming the telco landscape. Developed jointly by Vodafone and Cyient, Vismon is designed to consolidate configuration data across geographies, integrating both logical and physical inventory into one smart platform. It enables Vodafone’s teams across local markets to benchmark configurations, sniff out anomalies, and track deployments with clinical precision.

    Vismon isn’t just a shiny new dashboard. It has delivered measurable impact in Vodafone’s live deployments. The platform has slashed time spent compiling cross-market reports by 70 per cent, sped up decision-making by three times, and is expected to cut configuration errors by 50 per cent. In a sector where milliseconds matter and mistakes are expensive, these numbers scream efficiency.

    “Vismon provides the strategic foundation to oversee configuration data across all markets, enabling us to harmonise practices, identify best-performing setups, and optimise our networks more effectively than ever”, said Vodafone Network Development Digital Strategy manager Mostafa Noureldien.

    Cyient VP & regional head of sales Joaquim Croca echoed the sentiment, calling the platform a symbol of purposeful automation. “At Cyient, we are proud to partner with Vodafone in their journey toward smarter, faster, and more intelligent network operations”, he said. “This AI-driven platform exemplifies how intelligent automation and data-led insights can drive real impact—delivering agility, consistency, and strategic clarity at scale”.

    The move underscores Vodafone and Cyient’s mutual commitment to pushing the frontiers of digital network management. As telecom networks become increasingly data-heavy and globally integrated, Vismon could well become the blueprint for intelligent infrastructure engineering.

  • Prime Video drops a 17-title firecracker ahead of Prime Day 2025

    Prime Video drops a 17-title firecracker ahead of Prime Day 2025

    MUMBAI: Prime Video is bringing the noise—and the binge—with a blistering line-up of 17 Indian and global titles in the lead-up to Prime Day 2025 (12th–14th July). With something for every mood, language and genre, the streamer is out to ensure your July watchlist is longer than your shopping cart.

    It’s already game on with The Traitors (Hindi), an Indian take on the cult reality format, hosted by Karan Johar. With 20 celebs and one big pot of cash, the drama drops every Thursday at 8 PM.

    For desi diehards, Panchayat Season 4 returns from 24th June, back with Abhishek, Pradhan Ji, and Phulera’s eccentric ensemble. Meanwhile, Telugu satire Uppu Kappurambu premieres 4th July, spinning a quirky yarn about a village battling a graveyard crunch—led by Keerthy Suresh and Suhas.

    If thrills are your thing, Ground Zero, starring Emraan Hashmi, has already hit. Coming soon is Heads of State (2nd July), a glossy Hollywood caper headlined by Priyanka Chopra Jonas, John Cena and Idris Elba—expect explosions, espionage, and equal parts sass.

    The international slate gets grittier with Ballard (9th July), spun off from the Bosch: Legacy universe, and Dexter: Resurrection, slicing into Prime on 12th July with weekly episodes.

    K-drama fans, breathe easy: action-comedy Good Boy continues to pack a punch on weekends, while swoonfest Head Over Heels airs on Mondays and Tuesdays.

    Already streaming are Deep Cover, a spy romp featuring Bryce Dallas Howard and Orlando Bloom, and The Monkey, a horror-comedy led by Theo James.

    From rural satire to global shootouts, Prime Video’s got July loaded. Prime Day 2025 isn’t just a sale—it’s a full-blown screen-fest.

  • Gameskraft powers Indian athletes across track, field, para and archery

    Gameskraft powers Indian athletes across track, field, para and archery

    MUMBAI: When skill meets support, the scoreboard changes. That’s exactly what Gameskraft Foundation is banking on as it doubles down on India’s medal ambitions reaffirming partnerships with four key sporting foundations, the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS), Anju Bobby Sports Foundation (ABSF), Gosports Foundation, and the Dola & Rahul Banerjee Sports Foundation (DRBSF).

    “Over the past few years, our partnerships have shown encouraging results,” said Rishi Wadhera, Vice President – Corporate Communications & CSR, Gameskraft. “It’s been heartening to see how consistent support can make a meaningful difference in the journeys of emerging athletes. Our focus remains on nurturing potential, building sustainable infrastructure, and supporting communities in their efforts to create future champions. These collaborations are a reflection of our continued commitment to contributing positively to India’s sporting ecosystem with a long-term vision and are grateful to our partners for their commitment.”

    Together, these collaborations form a medal-making machine supporting everything from para-athletes to archers and track stars, from grassroots training to global podiums.

    At IIS, the Foundation backs the Athletics Centre of Excellence, whose star pupil Neeraj Chopra took home Silver in Javelin at the 2024 Paris Olympics. At ABSF, a new academy is taking shape in Bengaluru to foster more future Shaili Singhs who leapt to Bronze in Long Jump at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships.

    Lauding the efforts of the Gameskraft Foundation and their long-term commitment to a robust sports-driven culture, Anju Bobby George, Founder of ABSF and India’s first medallist in the World Athletic Championship said, “Our association with Gameskraft Foundation has been anchored in a shared belief in long-term impact. The backing we’ve received is not just empowering for our training infrastructure but has been vital in inspiring young girls from small towns to dream bigger.”

    Gameskraft’s partnership with GoSports Foundation under the Para Champions Programme is a testament to inclusivity in sports. At the 2024 Paralympics, the results were golden literally with Sumit Antil and Dharambir grabbing Gold, Suhas Yethiraj securing Silver, and Rakesh Kumar bagging Bronze.

    In the archery arena, Deepika Kumari supported via DRBSF scored Bronze at the 2025 Archery World Cup, aiming true with Gameskraft in her corner.

    “For Indian sport to reach the success we aspire, it needs the coming together of more than just talent. Corporate India’s involvement in sport is pivotal, and some of our more prominent achievements have been a result of this support. At Gameskraft Foundation, we have people who are as obsessed with us about our Olympic ambitions. Together we have created a system for our athletes that gives them the best possible chance to succeed, and I am confident we will have more podiums coming from track and field in the near future.”, said Manisha Malhotra, President, Inspire Institute of Sport.

    The results are already on the leaderboard, but Gameskraft isn’t done yet. With every laurel and long jump, the foundation is showing that gaming companies can play a serious role in India’s Olympic journey not just virtually, but with real impact on real tracks.

    Now that’s how you level up.

  • InMobi names Kunal Nagpal as chief business officer to spearhead ad empire makeover

    InMobi names Kunal Nagpal as chief business officer to spearhead ad empire makeover

    MUMBAI: Mobile advertising heavyweight InMobi has tapped Kunal Nagpal as its new chief business officer for advertising, tasking him with orchestrating a bold unification of its ad platforms—including the newly launched Glance AI, InMobi DSP, and the InMobi Exchange.

    The newly minted role is a key move in InMobi’s ongoing push to centralise its global go-to-market (GTM) strategy and tighten its grip on the evolving world of programmatic, AI-led, and first-party advertising.

    “We are on a transformative journey to build a stronger, more unified team and the ability to better adapt to market needs,” says InMobi Advertising CEO & co-founder Abhay Singhal. “Centralizing our advertising GTM across all product lines is essential for maintaining our growth momentum, and Kunal’s proven expertise with the company across InMobi Exchange positions him as the perfect leader for this initiative.”

    Over the past five years, Nagpal has helped scale InMobi Exchange into the second-largest full-funnel mobile SSP, expanding well beyond just mobile and in-app. In his new role, he’s now charged with monetising Glance AI—a generative AI commerce engine launched last month-while also aligning InMobi’s suite of ad products under one powerful umbrella.

    “The drive to redefine advertising through innovation requires strong leadership and bold strategies,” says Nagpal. “I am eager to embrace this challenge and collaborate with our incredible teams to generate even more value for our partners and customers.”

    Glance AI, InMobi’s latest innovation, lets users generate hyper-realistic fashion looks from a selfie using Google’s Gemini and Imagen models—creating one-tap shopping across 400+ brands. With Nagpal now at the helm, the platform is expected to play a larger role in InMobi’s monetisation machine.

  • ONO appoints Anurag Sinha as CBO to lead its next agri-charge across India’s mandi networks

    ONO appoints Anurag Sinha as CBO to lead its next agri-charge across India’s mandi networks

    MUMBAI: The mandi may be a centuries-old system, but ONO is betting on a modern formula: data, tech and now, a seasoned operator with two decades in the trenches. On June 24, 2025, Bengaluru-based agri-tech startup ONO appointed Anurag Sinha as its chief business officer (CBO) to lead its expansion across India’s vast and varied mandi ecosystem.

    Sinha, whose career spans leadership roles in firms like ITC and BigHaat, brings hands-on experience in agri-finance, tech and supply chains. From early-stage ventures to scale-stage challenges, he has consistently shaped agri-businesses into impact-led enterprises—a skill ONO is counting on as it doubles down on market linkages, credit access and logistics for India’s smallholders and agri-entrepreneurs.

    “Agriculture continues to be one of the most crucial yet underserved sectors when it comes to tech-enabled efficiency and data-driven decision making. I am excited to join ONO’s mission to reimagine agricultural supply chains through data, innovation, and ecosystem collaboration. I look forward to working with this dynamic team and driving meaningful change in the agriculture landscape”, Sinha said.

    As CBO, he will anchor ONO’s go-to-market operations, grow partnerships, and build new channels to enhance the platform’s core offering: mandi digitisation. ONO currently provides services such as formal credit access, price intelligence, logistics, and market linkages, backed by investor Aeravti Ventures.

    “Anurag’s proven experience in business building and execution will accelerate our vision and help us bring more stakeholders into the fold. We are happy to have him on board”, said ONO founder & CEO Rama Rao Kancharapu.

    Founded to modernise the traditional mandi model with data and transparency, ONO is emerging as a crucial enabler in India’s agri-value chain—bridging age-old practices with next-gen technology. Sinha’s entry signals a sharper focus on execution, market depth and ecosystem-building as ONO eyes national scale.

    If India’s farm-to-market puzzle needs solving, ONO seems ready with the algorithm—and Anurag Sinha may just be the codebreaker.

  • Butterfly unveils new identity with fingerprint wings, celebrates change in every Indian kitchen

    Butterfly unveils new identity with fingerprint wings, celebrates change in every Indian kitchen

    MUMBAI: Some brands age.

    Others evolve.

    And then there’s Butterfly-the Chennai-born kitchenware veteran that just reinvented itself with a deeply personal twist.

    On 23rd June 2025, Butterfly unveiled a revamped identity that fuses a timeless symbol with a powerful message: celebrate change without losing yourself.

    At the centre of this makeover is a design choice that’s as poetic as it is powerful. The new Butterfly logo incorporates a fingerprint seamlessly merging into the wings—marking every swirl with the individuality of the person using it. In a world that’s obsessed with change, Butterfly seems to say: your essence still matters.

    This refreshed identity isn’t just a nod to design—it’s a shift in mindset. Butterfly now speaks to a psychographic, not a demographic. Targeting what it calls the ‘zillenial attitude’, the brand aligns itself with those who may not be united by age but by how they engage with life: fluid, evolving, yet fiercely authentic.

    “For over 40 years, Butterfly has been a part of millions of kitchens across India. Today, as homes become more fluid and identities more self-defined, our new identity reflects not just who we are—but who we’re here for”, said Butterfly CBO Swetha Sagar.

    Backed by Crompton, the parent company known for its home solutions muscle, Butterfly is now turning the heat up in India’s fast-modernising kitchens. From mixer grinders to cooktops, its products are being overhauled to match the rhythms of hybrid lifestyles and shifting household roles—without losing durability or design edge.

    “This is more than a rebrand. It’s a reimagining of what it means to belong in a modern Indian kitchen. Butterfly is for the originals. The ones who grow, shift, and adapt, but never lose the essence of who they are”, Sagar added.

    The campaign—titled ‘Celebrating Change’—embraces the unpredictability of modern life, while doubling down on authenticity. In tone, language, and iconography, Butterfly signals a departure from traditional kitchen narratives that once revolved around functionality alone.

    The new visual identity reflects the stories of those who stir with soul, sauté with sass, and season with self-expression. It’s not just a kitchen upgrade—it’s an identity reset.

  • Dove mends it like Kintsugi in rebonding tale of strength and strands

    Dove mends it like Kintsugi in rebonding tale of strength and strands

    MUMBAI: Hair today, stronger tomorrow. Dove is flipping the damage-care narrative with its biggest launch in 15 years the Peptide Bond Strength range, fronted by a powerful campaign titled ‘Reborn Stronger’. But this isn’t just about split ends and smooth strands. This is about scars, strength and strand-by-strand self-acceptance.

    Drawing inspiration from Kintsugi, the Japanese art of honouring cracks with gold, Dove isn’t just sealing split hair, it’s celebrating the story behind it. Just like the artform, the new campaign doesn’t aim to return things to their former state. It shows that every break can lead to beauty that’s more profound, more radiant, and more resilient than before.

    At the centre of the campaign is a poetic film that quite literally glows. Fractured hair strands are mended with soft golden light, a visual metaphor for Dove’s new Protein-Peptide Complex, which rebuilds hair from within by restoring broken bonds. The result? Not just repaired hair but reborn hair.

    “The campaign isn’t about hiding damage, it’s about redefining it,” says Unilever vice president for hair care Sairam Subramanian. “This is for every woman who’s picked herself up and rebuilt, stronger and more radiant. ‘Reborn Stronger’ is her story, told strand by strand.”

    With warm tones, gentle voiceovers and real women in everyday acts of care brushing, tying, letting their hair down the campaign paints a picture that’s less about vanity and more about vulnerability. The message: resilience isn’t loud, it’s lived-in.

    Dove’s Peptide Bond Strength range is more than a formula upgrade. It’s a philosophy. Powered by the Protein-Peptide Complex, the new line works at a molecular level to repair internal hair damage and strengthen fibres from the inside out.

    The brand that has stood for real beauty now invites everyone to see hair and healing as more than a return to form. As the campaign quietly declares: It’s not about going back. It’s about coming back stronger. And that’s a promise as deep as the roots.

  • Brands queue up for Neeraj Chopra Classic as javelin goes prime time in India

    Brands queue up for Neeraj Chopra Classic as javelin goes prime time in India

    MUMBAI: India’s golden boy of athletics is attracting more than just medals. The inaugural ‘Neeraj Chopra Classic’—India’s first global javelin competition—is drawing serious brand muscle ahead of its 5 July debut at Bengaluru’s Sree Kanteerava Stadium.

    The event is headlined by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and backed by a power-packed sponsor roster that includes Visa (official partner), Audi India (mobility partner), BodyArmor Lyte ORS (hydration partner), Duolingo English Test (learning partner), and Snapchat (content partner).

    Radisson Hotel Group is the hospitality partner, JioStar the broadcast partner, and FanCode Shop is handling official merchandise—making the NC Classic a 360-degree sporting spectacle both on-ground and online.

    Speaking on the response from brands to the NC Classic, JSW Sports chief commercial officer, Karan Yadav said, “The versatility and range of brands that have decided to come on board with the NC Classic is testament to the potential this competition has. These are the biggest names in world javelin, spearheaded by Neeraj, competing on Indian soil for the first time. The event has all the ingredients to be a blockbuster, and a regular fixture on the world athletics calendar. The response to partner with the event has been fantastic, and it only augurs well for the future of live sport planned to global standards, in India.”

    With the world’s top javelin throwers gearing up to compete, the Neeraj Chopra Classic is shaping up to be more than just a one-off event—it’s India’s blockbuster entry into the world of elite field sports.

  • Ugro Capital appoints Anuj Pandey as CEO to steer its MSME engine into the next growth orbit

    Ugro Capital appoints Anuj Pandey as CEO to steer its MSME engine into the next growth orbit

    MUMBAI: In India’s rapidly evolving fintech theatre, few stages are as critical-and crowded-as MSME lending. Now, Ugro Capital, the Datatech-driven non-banking finance company, has shuffled the deck and handed the reins to a man who helped script its earliest chapters. On 24 June 2025, Ugro announced the elevation of Anuj Pandey—its founding team member and chief risk officer—as its new chief executive officer (CEO).

    Pandey steps into the top role at a pivotal moment. The company recently crossed Rs 12,000 crore in assets under management, announced the strategic acquisition of Profectus Capital, and completed a large capital raise. With over 300 branches now in play, Ugro is transitioning from growth mode to scale mode—and Pandey has been handed the wheel to steer that transition.

    As CEO, he will lead Ugro’s national MSME operations, digital lending platforms, and partner ecosystem. He will report to Shachindra Nath, founder, VC, & managing director, who continues to helm the company’s strategic direction, governance and investor relations.

    “Anuj’s elevation as CEO is a natural progression in Ugro’s evolution as an institution. As a founding member and chief risk officer, his deep understanding of MSME lending, risk, and technology-driven operations makes him ideally suited to lead execution. I will remain fully accountable for Ugro’s strategic and governance matters, while Anuj takes full charge of the business. With recently concluded acquisition of Profectus and a large capital raise, I along with my Board felt that Ugro should be steered under one strong hand who exclusively focuses on the operating performance while I continue to focus on the strategic agenda of making Ugro as India’s largest financial institution for MSME financing”, said Nath.

    Pandey, an alumnus of IIM Lucknow with a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering, brings over 25 years of experience from GSK Consumer, ABN AMRO, Barclays and Religare. At Ugro, he has built its credit and risk architecture from the ground up, helping shape the company’s data-first approach to MSME financing.

    “I have been working with Shachindra for last seven years even prior to our formation. Being part of Ugro’s founding journey has been a privilege. I look forward to leading the next phase of growth — expanding our MSME reach, scaling embedded finance, and continuing our mission of ‘solving the unsolved’ credit gap with discipline and innovation”, Pandey said.

    His elevation signals Ugro’s ambition to pair entrepreneurial vision with institutional rigour. As it scales new lending frontiers, the company appears intent on anchoring growth with continuity—and trusting those who helped build the ship to now captain it.