News Broadcasting
Govt moots law on foreign newspapers
NEW DELHI: The Indian government is proposing to enact a legislation to plug loopholes in the rules and regulations related to the print medium and discourage a repeat of the International Herald Tribune episode.
The Congress-led coalition government also ruled out easing norms for printing of foreign newspapers from India, barring technical and scientific journals.
“The government does propose to bring about a legislation that that would stop people like MJ Akbar and Venkat Ram Reddy in future to take advantage and print foreign newspapers from India, ” a senior info-broad ministry representative said today.
Hyderabad-based Midram Publications has been printing and publishing IHT from India after registering the brand with the Registrar of Newspapers in India since May end — a move that has put the government in a quandary as apparently no law is being broken as existing guidelines and rules lack legal sanctity and teeth.
While IHT is printed in India by Reddy, Akbar, who also edits Asian Age newspaper, is the editor. Akbar has also threatened to take legal action against the government if pushed against the wall.
“The government is looking at strengthening its case” against the likes of IHT, the ministry representative said, indicating that over the next two-three weeks a draft legislation in this regard may be ready.
The new proposed legislation would aim at plugging loopholes in organizations like the RNI, Press Registration Bureau Act and syndication rules.
Pointing out that till now the country’s print medium sector laws had been guided by the “moral strength” of a Jawaharlal Nehru cabinet decision of 1955, which incidentally is not technically a law, the I&B ministry representative said the present government and Congress party had been against a previous government’s decision allowing 26 per cent foreign investment in the news category of the print medium.
Apart from Business Standard, which has tied up with Financial Times of London, the Times of India group too is aiming at bringing The Asian Wall Street Journal (AWSJ) to India, amongst a slew of such other projects.
As per information available, AWSJ’s Indian edition, if allowed, is to be edited by Dow Jones’ India representative and senior journalist, Suman Dubey, who also happens to be a family friend of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.
News Broadcasting
Rising Bharat Summit 2026 spotlights India’s global ascent
PM Modi keynotes two-day event with ministers, diplomats and icons in New Delhi.
MUMBAI: India didn’t just host a summit, it threw a coming-out party for a nation ready to own the global stage. The News18 Rising Bharat Summit 2026, held on 27–28 February in New Delhi, emerged as a high-octane platform for ideas, vision and strategic dialogue, uniting national leadership, global policymakers, industry titans, defence strategists and cultural icons under the theme “Strength Within”.
Prime minister Narendra Modi set the tone with a keynote that framed India’s resurgence as a reclaiming of lost potential built over generations. “In previous industrial revolutions, India and the Global South were merely followers,” he said. “But in the era of Artificial Intelligence, India is a partner in decisions and shaping them.” He highlighted the country’s thriving AI startup ecosystem and the recent AI Impact Summit attended by over 100 nations.
Union minister Piyush Goyal (Commerce & Industry) stressed India’s readiness to scale exports and deepen manufacturing, while Ashwini Vaishnaw (Railways, I&B, Electronics & IT) positioned technology and infrastructure as twin engines of growth, especially in AI and digital trust. Jyotiraditya Scindia (Communications & North East Development) revealed India’s ambition to lead in 6G through the Bharat 6G Alliance and partnerships with over 30 countries.
Global voices added depth: former Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo called India’s development “self-sustaining” and strategically vital; ex-UK Chief of Defence Staff General Sir Nick Carter asserted India deserves a seat at the great powers’ table; and former US Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez joined ambassadors from Norway, Germany and Sweden in discussions on geopolitical realignment, sustainability and defence preparedness.
Other speakers included veteran investor Ramesh Damani, World Gold Council CEO David Tait, Vianai Systems founder Dr Vishal Sikka, DeepTech Bharat Foundation co-founder Shashi Shekhar Vempati, defence experts Rajesh Kumar Singh, Sunil Ambekar, Patrick McGee, Tom Cooper and Adrian Fontanellaz, plus cultural and sporting icons Kangana Ranaut, Saina Nehwal, PR Sreejesh, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mithali Raj, Anil Kapoor and Yami Gautam.
The summit was supported by Jio Financial Services (Presenting Partner), Phonepe and DS Group (Co-Presenting Partners), Pernod Ricard India and Kia Seltos (Powered By & Driven By), state governments of Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand (State Partners), and associate partners including NSE, M3M Foundation and Reliance Industries.
Broadcast live across News18 Network, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, the event reinforced India’s image as a confident democracy and emerging global power proving that when strength comes from within, the world can’t help but watch.
