Union minister Nitin Gadkari has suggested Tesla to start its manufacturing facility in India so that it “doesn’t miss a golden opportunity”. Sources said the minister has told the company not to “undermine” the capability of Indian manufacturers in the EV space. Gadkari had a web-based interaction with some of the senior representatives of Tesla recently. He said the American company has plans to start selling its cars in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. A source said while Gadkari welcomed Tesla’s plan to make its products available to Indian buyers, he told the company that Indian car makers are also making huge progress in the EV segment and would be able to give competition to Tesla in the next few years. “Tesla is already taking a lot of components from the Indian manufacturers. So there will be availability,” the minister said, adding, the government will provide support, if the company manufactures its products here in India.
Airtel shifts digital assets to Bharti
India's oldest private telecom operator Bharti Airtel wants to focus on digital opportunities and unlock value from new-age assets such as music, cloud, payments platform, and content. Taking a leaf out of Reliance Jio, the Sunil Mittal-led company is undertaking a major restructuring that will see it place all digital assets into the listed entity Bharti Airtel. These include assets such as Wynk Music, Airtel X stream, Airtel Thanks, Mitra Payments platform, Airtel Ads, and Airtel Cloud, apart from any such future product. While doing so, it will carve out core telecom assets under this listed entity through four separate verticals - mobile, broadband and enterprise as Airtel Ltd, payments bank, infrastructure (data centres and towers), and international (which will house African operations, submarine cable and Bangladesh, Sri Lankan operations). It also plans to get the DTH business into Airtel Ltd. The new design will help the company focus on and strengthen the digital businesses, which have been a major focal point to attract cash-rich international investors, something seen during the flood of investments that flowed into Jio Platforms that houses Reliance’s digital assets.
Madhavan is prez of Disney, Star India
K Madhavan has been named president, The Walt Disney Company India and Star India. In his new role, he will drive the company’s strategy and growth in India, with responsibility for Disney, Star and Hotstar businesses and operations spanning across entertainment, sports and regional channels, and direct-to-consumer, the company said in a statement. Since 2019, Madhavan served as country manager of Star & Disney India, overseeing the television and studios business.
