Day: July 13, 2023

Disney exploring sales or partners for India business!

Manish Kumar

Walt Disney is exploring options to sell or find a joint venture partner for its India digital and TV business.  Disney has faced increasing pressure due to the emergence of Reliance Industries’ streaming platform JioCinema.  A Research firm has estimated Disney+ Hotstar’s subscriber base shrank by nearly 5 million users in India after it lost the digital rights for IPL.  The source said it will be difficult to find an outright buyer in India as the enterprise value of the Indian business was seen as around $15-16 billion when Disney…

Naveen Patnaik reorganizes 2019 ‘game changer’ to boost BJD prospects ahead of 2024 polls

Manish Kumar

With less than a year for the Odisha Assembly elections and the Lok Sabha elections, the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) dispensation has approved a new scheme, “Ama Odisha, Nabin Odisha” (our Odisha, new Odisha) worth Rs 4,000 crore. Under the scheme, the BJD government will allocate funds for protecting places of worship, upgrading sites of historical significance, and improving rural infrastructure and digital access. The newly-announced initiative seems to be a repackaging of “Ama Gaon, Ama Bikash”, (our village, our development) — a scheme that turned out to…

Balasore Train Accident: Seven railway employees suspended for dereliction of duty

Manish Kumar

At least seven railway employees, were suspended on the charge of dereliction of duty leading to the triple train crash in Odisha, a top official said.  As many as 293 people were killed and over 1,200 injured in the triple train collision near Bahanaga Bazar railway station in Balasore district on June 2.  Earlier, the CBI had arrested senior Section Engineer (signal) Arun Kumar Mahanta, Section Engineer Mohammed Amir Khan, and Technician Pappu Kumar.  The Howrah-bound Coromandel Express crashed into a stationary goods train, derailing most of its coaches. A…