I&B Ministry
Launch of US$ 100 mn Pan-Asia Project Development Fund
Mumbai, January 19th, 2006, In the presence of Mr. P. Chidambaram, Honorable Finance Minister, Government of India, Mr. Y. Miyauchi, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, ORIX Corporation (ORIX), Japan, one of the world’s largest financial services corporations, and Mr. Ravi Parthasarathy, Chairman & Managing Director of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited (IL&FS), India’s leading infrastructure development and financing institution, have entered into a Joint Venture Agreement to jointly sponsor and manage the Pan Asia Project Development Fund (The Fund) with a target size of USD 100 million. IL&FS and ORIX have each committed USD 10 million to the Fund, which will fund the development of infrastructure projects in principal Asian markets such as Indonesia, The Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and other Asian countries, including India.
Given the strong economic growth in India, local companies have successfully demonstrated capabilities in developing infrastructure projects in Asia. Due to their inherent cost advantages and technical competencies, Indian companies are increasingly gaining a strong foothold in the Asian infrastructure arena vis-?-vis their western counterparts. Similarly, Japanese companies have proprietary high-end technologies with the natural framework emerging for a mutually beneficial Indo-Japanese partnership. Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Anup Thakur, Economic Minister, Embassy of India in Japan, said, “We are very pleased with this initiative which is a true bi-lateral partnership between Indian and Japanese corporations. It is our expectation that a host of infrastructure initiatives with attendant project exports from the two countries could result from this effort.”
Infrastructure projects require seed capital funding for converting the basic project concept into a bankable venture that incorporates aspects such as the privatization framework, technical and environmental studies, project cost, financial and legal structure, and financial viability. A rigorous project development exercise results in the project being ready for implementation, with bidders willing to pay a premium as these projects can be taken up for construction within a very short time period from the date of award of the bid, resulting in significant time and cost savings for the bidders. IL&FS has successfully developed, sponsored and implemented a large number of infrastructure projects in India, and had earlier set up the India Project Development Fund, which has been highly successful.
The Asian infrastructure sector offers attractive investment opportunities, and as per a study conducted by the World Bank, ADB, and JBIC, developing Asian countries alone would need to spend more than USD one trillion dollars over the next five years in various infrastructure sectors such as surface transport, urban infrastructure, communications and utilities.
The investment manager of the Fund is IL&FS Asian Infrastructure Managers Limited, a joint venture company set up by IL&FS Investment Managers Limited (“IIML”), the private equity investment arm of IL&FS and ORIX Corporation.
About ORIX Corporation, Japan:
ORIX is an integrated financial services group based in Tokyo, Japan, providing innovative value-added products and services to both corporate and retail customers. With operations in 24 countries and regions worldwide, ORIX’s activities include corporate financial services, such as leases and loans, as well as automobile operations, rental operations, real estate-related finance, real estate, life insurance, and investment banking. As of March 31, 2005, ORIX had an asset book of USD 56.5 billion with revenues of over USD 8.5 billion. ORIX is listed on the Tokyo and New York Stock Exchanges. ORIX has significant presence in the entire South East Asian region and this presence can be leveraged with IL&FS project development expertise to jointly take forward and consolidate on the proposed activities of the Fund.
About IL&FS:
IL&FS is a multi-faceted organisation providing a range of fund and non-fund based financial services. IL&FS has been mandated with the commercialisation of infrastructure projects as well as providing a wide range of financial services. Broadly, its activities include financial services (including investment banking and asset financing), commercialisation of infrastructure projects and asset management. IL&FS has over the years established a unique positioning in the infrastructure sector in India, as a developer, sponsor, financier and facilitator. In the process, it has gained significant experience in project development, taking projects from “concept” to “commissioning” and has been able to establish linkages with a range of engineering, technology and contracting companies, both in India and overseas. IL&FS is currently working on the development of projects of an aggregate cost in excess of USD 10 billion.
About IIML:
IIML is one of India’s largest domestic private equity fund management companies, managing over US$ 400 million on behalf of leading Indian and international institutions. IIML presently manages an array of funds focused on investments across infrastructure, life sciences, manufacturing, information technology, and consumer services. IIML is a publicly traded investment management company with its shareholding divided amongst its Indian and International shareholders. While IL&FS is the principal shareholder, Bank of India and IFC, Washington are other prominent institutional shareholders
For further details, please contact:
Priyank Vashisht
Rediffusion DYR Public Relations
5605 7248 / 56827122Pan-Asia Project
I&B Ministry
Prasar Bharati opens AIR to private content under new policy
NIPP introduces revenue share, sponsored and gratis models
MUMBAI: Radio may be the oldest voice in the room, but it’s learning some very modern tricks. In a bid to stay tuned to changing listener habits, Prasar Bharati has opened the doors of All India Radio to private players under a newly rolled-out content framework. The initiative, titled Notice Inviting Programme Proposals (NIPP), marks a significant shift in how the public broadcaster approaches programming moving from a largely in-house model to a more collaborative, market-aligned ecosystem. Issued by Akashvani’s Directorate General in April 2026, the policy invites private producers, content owners and aggregators to pitch programmes across formats, from radio dramas and documentaries to quiz shows, storytelling and music-led content.
At the heart of the framework lies a three-pronged participation model designed to balance creative freedom with commercial viability. The most prominent route is revenue sharing, where advertising and sponsorship income generated by a programme is split between the producer and the broadcaster. The structure tilts in favour of creators offering a 70:30 split when producers bring in advertising, and 65:35 when monetisation is handled by Prasar Bharati.
Alongside this sits the sponsored model, where producers fully fund and monetise their content, subject to compliance with advertising norms and the AIR Broadcast Code. For those less commercially inclined, a gratis route allows content to be submitted free of cost, with Prasar Bharati retaining all monetisation rights effectively turning the platform into a national distribution channel for diverse voices.
The move comes as legacy media grapples with intensifying competition from private FM networks, streaming platforms and digital audio ecosystems. By repositioning AIR as both a public service broadcaster and a content marketplace, Prasar Bharati appears to be recalibrating its role in a rapidly evolving media landscape.
Importantly, the framework does not dilute editorial control. All submissions must adhere to the AIR Broadcast Code, and proposals are evaluated through a layered process that weighs storytelling quality, production capability, audience appeal and revenue potential. Only proposals crossing a defined threshold move forward, signalling that while access has widened, the bar remains firmly in place.
Operational discipline is another cornerstone of the policy. Producers are required to maintain broadcast-ready content, deliver episode banks in advance and navigate a structured approval process. Crucially, all production costs are borne by the content provider, reinforcing Prasar Bharati’s positioning as a distribution and oversight platform rather than a commissioning entity.
What elevates the initiative further is its scale. The framework spans multiple clusters and stations across India, covering both metro and regional markets, with specific language mandates and submission channels. This not only expands the content pipeline but also deepens linguistic and cultural representation, an area where AIR has historically held an advantage.
In effect, NIPP signals a quiet but meaningful transformation. AIR is no longer just broadcasting to the nation, it is inviting the nation to broadcast with it, blending legacy reach with contemporary content economics in a bid to stay relevant in an increasingly fragmented audio universe.
