In response to India’s foreign investment rules, the BBC is undergoing a significant restructuring of its operations in the country. Four employees will depart from the BBC to establish a wholly Indian-owned company named Collective Newsroom. This new entity will incorporate the BBC’s six Indian language services, while the English language newsgathering operation in India will remain under the BBC’s purview.
This move comes following an investigation earlier this year that led to tax authorities searching the BBC’s offices in Mumbai and New Delhi. New regulatory requirements have capped foreign funding for digital news companies based in India at 26%, necessitating that any company publishing digital news content in the country be majority-owned by Indian nationals.
Rupa Jha, currently heading India at the BBC, will lead Collective Newsroom alongside Mukesh Sharma, Sanjoy Majumder, and Sara Hassan. Members of the six language services (BBC Gujarati, BBC Hindi, BBC Marathi, BBC Punjabi, BBC Tamil, and BBC Telugu) and the BBC India YouTube channel in English will join this new venture.
“Audiences in India can be assured that the BBC’s Indian language services and unique range of quality output will inform, educate, and entertain audiences across our diverse and highly engaged country under the agreement between the BBC and Collective Newsroom,” stated Ms. Jha.
The BBC’s presence in India faced scrutiny earlier this year for alleged breaches of foreign direct investment rules, coinciding with the broadcaster airing a documentary critical of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Indian government maintained that the searches were lawful and unrelated to the documentary.
With over 300 staff currently working across the BBC’s services in India, the corporation’s history in the country dates back to its first Hindi broadcast in 1940. Jonathan Munro, BBC News deputy CEO, expressed that the BBC’s presence in India has a rich history that will continue to progress with the establishment of Collective Newsroom.
