News Broadcasting
BBC World’s ‘The World Challenge’ shortlists India’s Irula Venom Centre as a finalist
MUMBAI: The World Challenge – a global competition in partnership with BBC World, Shell and Newsweek which seeks to highlight and reward outstanding examples of community enterprise and innovation – has announced that the Irula Venom Centre has been shortlisted as one of 12 finalists.
Earlier this year, BBC World received a total of 457 entries with the highest numbers coming from India with a total of 71 nominations. Forty five entries came from the United States, 30 from Nigeria , 18 from South Africa and 17 from Pakistan.
A panel of judges, including representatives from the World Bank, TVE and Triodos Bank, chose 12 unique and interesting entries to progress to the final stage. The panel recognised the innovative way in which the Irula Venom Centre (India) has been able to create employment for local tribal people, while protecting the local community from the dangers of venomous snakes.
The Irula community, not long ago impoverished, is now being employed to catch snakes and carefully extract their venom, before releasing them back into the wild. This venom is used to create anti-venom serum for the treatment of snakebites, which, in turn, protects the local community from harm. The project has been so successful that the Irula Venom Centre now supplies up to 80 per cent of the venom for India’s medical needs.
A 15-minute film is being produced on each of the finalists, and these will be aired as six special programmes about The World Challenge to be broadcast globally on BBC World for six weeks from Saturday 20 August (every Saturday at 2 pm and 7 pm). Each project will also be featured extensively in Newsweek.
Viewers can vote for their favourite project through the website of The World Challenge, at www.theworldchallenge.co.uk. The winning project will be announced in November, and will receive from Shell a grant of US$20,000.
The other shortlisted projects are: Basket Weaving (Kenya), Bio Power (Malta), Coconuts For Erosion Control (Philippines), Elephant Pepper (Zambia), Men On The Side Of The Road (South Africa), Nguna-Pele Rechargeable Battery (Vanuatu), Real Vision, Real IPM (Kenya), Resin Roof Tiles (Ukraine), Riet Vell Organic Farming (Spain), ROMP (United Kingdom), Weddings That Give Back (United States).
News Broadcasting
Network18 channels lead YouTube news viewership in March 2026
CNN-News18, News18 India and CNBC channels top categories with record views
MUMBAI: When the world hit refresh on breaking news, Network18’s channels were already streaming ahead. As geopolitical tensions and war-driven headlines fuelled a surge in global news consumption, the network’s digital playbook delivered big clocking record Youtube viewership across English, Hindi and business news categories in March 2026.
At the forefront was CNN-News18, which emerged as the clear leader in the English news segment with 130 million live and video-on-demand views. The channel edged past competitors such as Times of India (126.5 million), Times Now (101.1 million), India Today (88.2 million) and NDTV (77.5 million), according to Databeings data for March.
In the Hindi news arena, News18 India delivered a commanding performance, racking up a staggering 3,297 million views on YouTube. The channel comfortably outpaced NDTV India, which recorded 3,119 million views, underlining its deep reach and consistent engagement with mass audiences, as per Playboard data.
The network’s dominance wasn’t confined to general news. In the Hindi business segment, CNBC Awaaz topped the charts with 92 million views, narrowly ahead of Zee Business (90 million) and well ahead of ET Now Swadesh (57 million). Meanwhile, its English counterpart CNBC-TV18 posted a strong 58 million views, reinforcing the network’s cross-category strength.
The spike in viewership reflects a broader shift in audience behaviour, with viewers increasingly turning to digital platforms particularly Youtube for real-time updates and in-depth coverage during high-intensity news cycles. For Network18, the numbers signal more than just scale; they underline the effectiveness of a multi-platform strategy that blends speed, credibility and continuous coverage.
In a month where the news never paused, it seems viewers chose to stay tuned where the stream never stopped.
