News Broadcasting
IT minister Mahajan gets additional charge of telecoms; Paswan gets coal and mines
Telecoms minister Ram Vilas Paswan apparently got his just reward for increasing teledensity in India during his two year tenure and piloting the Communication Convergence Bill 2001 into Parliament in a almost sneaky maneuver on the last day of the monsoon session. Paswan was shorn of his telecoms ministry charge on Saturday by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee – as part of a cabinet reshuffle over the weekend – and given the coal and mines ministry reponsibility.
Information technology minister Pramod Mahajan was given additional charge of the telecoms ministry in a move which is seen as the first steps towards the creation of a giant ministry of convergence. Observers expect the information and broadcasting ministry to go next under the convergence ministry umbrella.
Mahajan – who is a fund raiser for the Bharatiya Janata Party – is familiar with broadcasting as he headed the ministry three years ago, but was later replaced by current minister Sushma Swaraj. He told a press conference that “broadcasting does not really come under convergence as it deals with entertainment whereas communications and information technology have closer links.”
Mahajan says he would like to see the Communication Convergence Bill 2001 enacted by August 2002.
News Broadcasting
Times Network to air JVC Exit Poll across 5 regions on April 29
Four-hour broadcast spans states and Puducherry with data-led analysis
MUMBAI: Times Network is set to roll out what it calls one of its most expansive election programming efforts yet, culminating in the JVC Exit Poll on 29 April, with a multi-hour broadcast spanning key poll-bound regions.
The exit poll will air across Times Now and Times Now Navbharat, beginning at 5pm and 4pm respectively. Co-powered by Vedanta and Jindal Stainless, the programming aims to combine on-ground reportage with data-driven projections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
The network has deployed over 50 journalists across these regions, gathering voter sentiment and local insights in the run-up to polling. The effort builds on its ongoing election formats such as Election Yatra and Election Premier League, which have tracked campaign narratives and community-level issues.
In parallel, Times Now Navbharat has focused on constituency-level reporting in West Bengal through its Jan Gan ka Mann series, capturing voter opinions across diverse segments.
The coverage has also featured interviews with prominent political leaders. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and V D Satheesan have appeared on the network’s election specials. From Tamil Nadu, voices including deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran, BJP leader K Annamalai and NTK’s Seeman have also featured in discussions.
On the day of the exit poll, the network’s primetime anchors, including Navika Kumar, Zakka Jacob and Sumit Awasthi, will lead the coverage. They will be joined by a panel of political analysts, psephologists and senior journalists offering real-time insights and interpretation of trends.
The programming will integrate grassroots reportage with analytics from the JVC Exit Poll, aiming to give viewers an early sense of electoral outcomes ahead of the official results on 4 May.
With its combined English and Hindi broadcast reach, Times Network is positioning this effort as a comprehensive look at voter sentiment, blending field reporting, data and debate to decode what could lie ahead when the final mandate is revealed.
