Dr. Sanjive Narain is one of the most prolific entrepreneurs in the entire North-Eastern region of India. He is a pioneer of the Assamese Film & Television Industry in the entire Northeast, with over 28 years of experience in the Television and Broadcast Media. A distinguished name in the Broadcasting and Entertainment Industry, he has launched nearly 200 channels in the Northeast. Dr. Narain is the founder and promoter of M/S A.M. Television Private Limited and owns many ventures, including Prag News, the first news channel of North East.
EARLY LIFE & EDUCATION
Dr. Sanjive Narain was born to the parents Shri Viapak Narain and Rani Narain in Guwahati, Assam. He started his schooling at Holy Child School and went on to study at St. Stephen’s School in Guwahati. He graduated in Economics from B. Borooah College, Guwahati.
ENTREPRENEURIAL JOURNEY: BUILDING AN EMPIRE, BUILDING AN ECONOMY
Dr. Sanjive Narain started his career with a video cassette parlour named Dolly’s Video Parlour in Guwahati in 1992. In 1994, he changed his line of business and entered the cable networking sector, helping provide signals through an analogue system. His hard work and dedication led him to be appointed as the most successful distributor for Star India Pvt. Ltd for the entire North Eastern states of India. In 1998, Dr. Narain expanded his business activities and started Cable TV franchising under the name Guwahati Communication. Later, he was also appointed as the distributor for SET India Pvt. Ltd (currently known as Sony Pictures) in 2000 for Assam and other NE states. He was then appointed as the Distributor for BBC and Lok Sabha TV for the entire NE in 2004 and 2006, respectively.
Dr. Sanjive Narain was the first to start the distribution of all the top Broadcasters of India, mainly Zee, Star Sports, Ten Sports, ESPN, Times Now, Turner India Pvt Ltd, MTV, Zoom TV, Disney, Discovery, NDTV, and many more in the region. His company, Purvanchal Communication Pvt. Ltd., which was founded in 2001, adopted the distribution of TV Channels. Thereafter, in 2008-09, the company entered into the exercise of taking tenders from FCI (Food Corporation of India) for transportation and handling of food grains.
In 2001, Dr. Narain and his team delved into the electronic media sector and started the channel PRAG NEWS as a cable TV. PRAG NEWS was the first local news channel in the NE region. Subsequently, it became a satellite channel. Today, it stands as one of the strongest regional satellite channels amongst all other regional satellite channels. His enduring efforts and futuristic outlook have made Prag News the undisputed leader amongst all the satellite channels in North East.
Dr. Narain also launched a new satellite entertainment channel named ‘Rengoni’ along with two cable TV channels—Prag Cinema & Prag Channel. The company went on to launch a new news channel named ‘NE NEWS’ with the aim to encourage regional languages as well as to increase the employability of local people in NE India. He also prioritizes reviving the Assamese Film Industry. He started the prestigious Prag Cine Awards to celebrate, honour, and give due recognition to the Assamese Film Industry.
Dr. Sanjive Narain’s media company, AM Television Private Limited, is undoubtedly one of the most prestigious and respected media houses not only in Assam but in the entire North East. It was started with the objective of not just owning a television channel for telecasting news, info-entertainment, and other programs but also to act as a producer and distributor of various television programs. AM Television Private Limited has produced 36 films under its production house till date. Noteworthy amongst them are:
- Dwaar won the Best Director, Best Music, and Best Audiography award in the Assam State Film Awards and National Filmfare Awards for 2010-2012.
- Sarvagunakar Srimanta Sankardeva (2015)—the first animation feature film on Srimanta Shankardeva.
- Water Burial (2019) won the Best Film National Award in the Environment Conservation category in the 67th National Film Awards 2021.
Dr. Sanjive Narain started Axom Communications & Cable Pvt. Ltd. in 2011, which now has over 4,00,000 subscribers and 500 persons working directly and 4000 people working indirectly for them in the North East. He also started G.E. Tradecom Private Limited in 2013, the fastest-growing company engaged in the business of Distributorship of Apple Inc. for North East.
