News Broadcasting
BBC launches news in Indian languages, ties up with Eenadu and India News
MUMBAI: BBC has launched news services in four Indian languages – Marathi, Gujarati, Telugu and Punjabi as it expanded business in the country for which BBC director-general Anthony William “Tony” Hall has arrived. BBC Duniya, a nightly television news bulletin in Hindi, has also been relaunched; it will be telecast on India News.
The Punjabi service will initially be online and on social media and include video coverage. BBC, in its blurb, advertised Punjabi as the eleventh most spoken language in the world, used by 100 million people — the highest in Pakistan. Among the popular Punjabis, it stated, are the former Indian prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, seven Indian army chiefs and six Air Force chiefs.
Formally opening a BBC bureau in Delhi, BBC’s largest outside the UK, the D-G said that the audience in India had trusted the BBC for decades for bringing them independent and impartial news, and millions would get the chance to access BBC in their own languages, IBNS reported. Expanding the news bureau in Delhi and opening two television studios is a part of the UK Government’s Rs 25 billion (GBP 291 million) investment in India.
BBC, which has now partnered India News and Eenadu TV, was already held in great regard across India, and BBC News was being offered to new audience, especially the next generation. BBC has recruited 150 smart journalists from across the country, the D-G added.
The new services would also be available online and on social media, with BBC Prapancham, a Telugu TV bulletin which will be aired on Eenadu TV (Telangana) and Eenadu TV (Andhra Pradesh).
Eenadu TV Network CEO K Bapineedu said, that the BBC initiative to produce international stories in the Telugu language to be aired on ETV Network will add value to their endeavour of reaching the Telugu audience with the highest reach and authenticity.
India News operator-owner iTV Network founder-promoter Kartikeya Sharma said that BBC was famed for its unbiased and well-researched content which would be reaching its viewers in a format and language they could comprehend.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to host Kolkata Town Hall on Hooghly River
‘Bhalobasa Bengal Inspiring Bharat’ event on April 20 brings cultural icons, trailblazing women and leaders aboard a cruise to celebrate Bengal’s enduring influence.
MUMBAI: Bengal is about to make fresh waves on the Hooghly and this time the current is pure conversation. CNN-News18 is taking its iconic Town Hall format to the waters of the iconic Hooghly River on 20 April 2026 with a special edition titled ‘Bhalobasa Bengal – Inspiring Bharat’. The floating event will celebrate the state’s rich cultural legacy and how its ideas, creativity and spirit continue to shape the rest of the country.
The unique riverside setting draws on Bengal’s history as a cradle of reform, art and intellectual thought. The speaker line-up mirrors that diversity: cultural heavyweights Mithun Chakraborty and Sreenanda Shankar will share the stage with trailblazing “Devis” such as Tanya Sanyal (India’s first woman firefighter in aviation), Ipsita Chakraborty (Kolkata’s first woman bartender) and Reshma Nilofer Visalakshi (Nari Shakti awardee and marine pilot). Music will flow through the celebrated pianist-vocalist duo Sourendro and Soumyojit, while public life and governance will be represented by Smriti Irani, Leander Paes, Saira Shah Halim, Keya Ghosh, Rekha Patra, Roopa Ganguly and Babul Supriyo.
CNN-News18, editorial affairs director, Rahul Shivshankar, said the event honours voices that carry Bengal’s legacy forward. Smriti Mehra, CEO – English & Business News, Network18, added that Bengal’s stories resonate far beyond its borders, especially as the state heads into polls.
From the first woman to battle flames in the skies to legendary actors who shaped Indian cinema, the gathering promises a rich mix of inspiration, courage and candid dialogue. In a city where culture has always flowed as freely as the river itself, CNN-News18 is turning the Hooghly into a floating forum for ideas that matter.
Tune in on 20 April on CNN-News18, CTV and YouTube to catch Bengal’s heartbeat in full flow.
