BBC Overhauls India Services Amid FDI Regulations
The BBC is undergoing a major overhaul of its India services in response to the country’s foreign direct investment (FDI) rules. As a result of the restructuring, four BBC employees will be departing the company to form a new Indian entity called ‘Collective Newsroom’, which will encompass the BBC’s six Indian language services.
The new regulations restrict the maximum FDI in India-based digital news companies to 26%, with companies publishing digital news in the country required to be majority-owned by Indian citizens.
Rupa Jha, the current head of Indian languages at the BBC, will lead the collective newsroom, along with Mukesh Sharma, Sanjoy Majumdar, and Sara Haasan. The new organization will incorporate staff from BBC Tamil, BBC Gujarati, BBC Hindi, BBC Marathi, BBC Punjabi, and BBC Telugu, as well as staff from the BBC India English YouTube channel.
In a statement, Rupa Jha expressed confidence that the partnership between the BBC and Collective Newsroom will continue to provide high-quality content to inform and entertain audiences across India.
The restructuring comes in the wake of Income Tax authorities inspecting the BBC’s Indian offices in New Delhi and Mumbai earlier this year. The inspections raised questions about the BBC’s compliance with FDI rules, particularly following the broadcast of a documentary critical of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the UK.
Currently, the BBC has over 300 staff working on its services in India. BBC News deputy chief executive Jonathan Munro commented on the revamp, stating that the BBC’s presence in India has a rich history and that it will continue to improve with the creation of the collective newsroom.
The move by the BBC reflects the evolving regulatory landscape for foreign media organizations operating in India and demonstrates the company’s commitment to complying with local regulations.