News Broadcasting
IBN7’s ‘Operation Yamraj’ revealed counterfeit medicine racket
MUMBAI: Operation Yamraj, a sting operation conducted by IBN7, unearthed a big racket of manufacturing and selling of fake & counterfeit medicines. The racket is based out of Meerut, not very far from the National Capital Delhi.
IBN7’s undercover reporter approached the masterminds of the racket posing as a businessman dealing in medicines. They were ready to supply cheap chemicals packaged in the bottles of a reputed company. They were so confident of their fake products that they claimed even the owners of these reputed companies will not be able to find any difference. They primarily target the medicines that are sold over the counter and do not require a medical practitioner’s prescription. Their offerings include medicines from common ailments such as cough, fever and pain to serious diseases of liver & kidney.
The channel aired Operation Yamraj on 1 December 2015 at 9 pm. The Uttar Pradesh administration took cognizance of this immediately and the UP Health Department has ordered an investigation into the matter. Raids are being conducted at various places in Meerut by the UP Police in co-ordination with other concerned departments. S P Yadav, State Minister of Medical & Health, Uttar Pradesh has assured that strict action will be taken against the accused. Many prominent leaders including Rajiv Shukla, K C Tyagi, Jagdambika Pal and Meerut MP Rajeev Agarwal across political parties have lauded IBN7’s efforts and have promised to raise the issue in Parliament. Former UP CM Mayawati has demanded a CBI enquiry into the matter. The story found great traction on social media with the hashtag #IBN7OpYamraj was amongst the top trends in India.
Commenting on the same, IBN7 Deputy Managing Editor Sumit Awasthi asserted, “As a responsible and leading news channel, we are committed to pursuing and uncovering stories that directly impact people across the country. Our team worked on this sting for close to 2 months committing ourselves fully to this story given its serious ramifications.”
News Broadcasting
News TV viewership jumps 33 per cent as West Asia war draws audiences
BARC Week 8 data shows news share rising to 8 per cent despite T20 World Cup
NEW DELHI: Even as individual television news channel ratings remain under a temporary pause, the genre itself is seeing a clear surge in audience attention.
According to the latest data from Broadcast Audience Research Council India, television news recorded a 33 per cent jump in genre share in Week 8 of 2026, covering February 28 to March 6.
The news genre accounted for 8 per cent of total television viewership during the week, up from 6 per cent the previous week. The spike in attention coincided with escalating geopolitical tensions involving the United States, Israel and Iran, which have kept global headlines firmly fixed on West Asia.
The rise is notable because it came at a time when cricket was dominating television screens. The high-stakes stages of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, including the Super 8 fixtures and semi-finals, were being broadcast during the same period.
Despite the cricket frenzy, viewers appeared to be toggling between sport and global affairs, boosting the overall share of news programming.
The surge in genre share comes even as the government has enforced a one-month pause on publishing ratings for individual news channels. The move followed regulatory scrutiny of the television ratings ecosystem.
While channel-level rankings remain temporarily out of sight, the genre-level data suggests that when global tensions escalate, audiences continue to turn to television news for real-time updates.
