Category: Factual

BBC Worldwide’s factual entertainment successful in India

MUMBAI: Once in a blue moon or so, a television programme comes along that transfixes a nation and changes the daily routines of its viewers. The Great British Bake-Off is one of those. It airs once a week at 8pm on BBC One. And every week UK residents rush home to watch whose puddings have got saggy bottoms. In last season’s final episode, 14.49 million viewers tuned in to watch the 30-year-old Nadiya Jamir Hussain take home the crown of the best baker. That episode, on 7 October last year, was the most popular programming in the UK, apart from the sport of football.

GBBO is a sign of the times. One of the Beeb’s most successful innovations in recent times – though it will be moving to Channel 4 in the next season as its producer Love Productions has struck a deal for it with the former – it indicates how British and European audiences are lapping up what we in India may call rather tedious factual TV shows as they deal with more mundane everyday matters. BBC Worldwide has been at the forefront of driving this change with hits such as GBBO.

Says BBC Worldwide’s Factual Entertainment and Entertainment genre director Tracy Forsyth: “The audience here is more inclined to enjoy factual entertainment shows about perfecting a hobby or skill. The success story of The Great British Bake Off is a good example of this.”

This BAFTA-winning British television baking competition that first aired on BBC Two in 2010 is already on to its season seven this year

Extreme sports have also emerged as a favourite in other European, American and Australian markets. “Shows like Special Forces – Ultimate Hell Week, SAS: Who Dares Wins on Channel 4, are doing exceptionally well,” says Forsyth.

She notes that imbibing digital and social media into storytelling has added new dimensions to factual entertainment content leading to BBC Worldwide taking chances with several experimental formats.

“In Stupid Man, Smart Phone’ we asked the simple question – Can we survive the most remote locations in the world using only our mobile phones? Apart from this we have also roped in YouTube stars in our shows to leverage their fan base in the social media,” Forsyth explains.
Being a pioneer in the sector globally puts BBC Worldwide is in a comfortable position to leverage its rich international format library and devise relatable local content off it for the Indian market.

Forsyth’s Indian counterpart, BBC Worldwide India SVP and General Manager Myleeta Aga has been pushing the UK powerhouse’s fortunes in the Indian market. To date, the production house has produced innovative factual formats like the three seasons of Asian Paints HarGharKuchKehta Hai or ‘The House That Made Me ‘for Sony Entertainment Television and ColorsTV, two seasons of Epic Ke Dus on Epic TV, Inside Out for Discovery Channel, My Big Decision on Channel V and Wife Bina Life (The Week The Women Went) on Star Plus. Most recently BBC’s show Real Two States Couples featuring the best selling author Chetan Bhagat has aired on new factual entertainment channel FYI.

While keeping an eye on global trends helps understand where India stands in terms of content consumption behaviour, Aga reinforces the fact that the key to getting more eyeballs and ad revenues flowing in the genre in India is to catch the pulse of local content.

“Ours is a local content market – audiences want to see content that is relevant to them,” she states, confident of her team’s skill sets to meet the market’s ever growing need for quality content.

“Factual entertainment is just a step away from pure factual content where BBC Worldwide is a global leader,” adds Aga. Barring the genre leaders like Discovery, National Geographic Channel and HistoryTV18, newer channels like Travel XP, FYi, Insight Channel, Living Foodz have popped up in BARC India’s infotainment category. Additionally, channels like Sony BBC Earth are also waiting to launch and further expand the genre, as reported earlier by indiantelevision.com.

BBC Worldwide India SVP and General Manager Myleeta Aga

Going by the FICCI KPMG M&E report 2015, the genre commanded a viewership share of 1.3 per cent of the total market, higher than both English Entertainment and English News, while it’s AdEx share stood at two per cent of Rs 175 billion. Since then the sector has seen an upward trajectory both in terms of volume of content produced, and advertising revenue earned.

“While Infotainment in India represents a mere 1.25 per cent of the viewing share, this is still larger than English Entertainment and English Movies. This share of audience has been pretty much stable since 2012 but with platforms offering packaging by content genre there is scope for growth,” points out Aga. “Factual/infotainment should also index better with advertisers as share of audience grows and we are able to more accurately measure viewership. Well made locally relevant content will be key to growing this category,” Aga said.

Drawing distinction between factual entertainment with the essence of drama and entertainment in it, and purely informative factual content Aga states that India has a demand supply gap in the latter category, which the production house intends to fill with its high quality content.

The Indian market provides a great playing field for the content producer in its regional languages as well. “Regional language dubbing makes factual content more accessible. And because it is often content without ‘dialogue’ it is easy to dub. However you still need to make an effort to give direction to dubbing artists just as you would to actors in a drama. Because they are the storytellers,” Aga points out.

Executives who dabble with content assert that there is a large audience in Tamil, Telugu and other regional languages which respond positively to factual entertainment content being dubbed and provided to them.

This directly translates to a sizeable business opportunity for content creators and BBC Worldwide India backed by its rich experience of is already on it to make the most of it.

September 21, 2016
Discovery’s Harley-Davidson docu-drama in Oct

MUMBAI: Harley-Davidson is not just a motorcycle but a symbol of Americana. Founded by Walter and Arthur Davidson and their friend Bill Harley who gave everything they had to ensure the survival of the company they founded. Featuring their journey through a three-part mini-series is Discovery channel.

The channel will premiere ‘Harley and the Davidsons on 14 October at 9 pm’. The series will air on three consecutive Fridays – 14, 21 Oct and 28 October at the same time.

It looks at how the founders continued to grow its loyal following like no other competitor– whether it was securing the American Army contract and teaching riders how to make repairs on the field to embracing boisterous motorcycle clubs across the nation. They would eventually channel all their resources with their biggest risk yet – creating the world’s first superbike, a state-of-the-art racing machine for the masses.

The series features Michiel Huisman as Walter Davidson, Robert Aramayo as William Harley and Bug Hall playing the role of Arthur Davidson. Other cast members include Stephen Rider, Jessica Camacho, Daniel Coonan, Annie Read, Wilson Bethel, Dougray Scott, Gabe Luna, Alex Shaffer, Essa O’Shea and Sean Scully.

Based on a true story, the show charts the birth of this iconic bike during a time of great social and technological change beginning at the turn of the 20 century. Walter, Arthur and Bill risked their entire fortune and livelihood to launch the budding enterprise. Each of these men faced very different challenges, but it was the motorcycle that united their dreams and ambitions.

For Walter Davidson, the venture was a chance to escape from the confines of society – to ignore the rules and build a bike that could go anywhere and ride hard. For Arthur Davidson, it was an opportunity to finally make good on his name. And for Bill Harley, the bike gave him hope to break free from his overbearing parents and apply his talent as an engineer.

Built in a shed out of Milwaukee, these motorcycles were able to survive nearly every condition imaginable. And Walter certainly put the bikes to the test. His ferocious ambition propelled him to become a top motorcycle racer while competing in the deadly competitions sweeping the nation. Walter’s daredevil exploits put Harley-Davidson on the map – and while risky – pushed the company to eventually overtake their archrival competitor, Indian, which had a stronghold on the market.

Fuelled by ingenuity, innovation and design, the founders of Harley-Davidson faced off against their much bigger rivals.

The series has already been a success in the US.

September 20, 2016
Discovery’s Harley-Davidson docu-drama in Oct

MUMBAI: Harley-Davidson is not just a motorcycle but a symbol of Americana. Founded by Walter and Arthur Davidson and their friend Bill Harley who gave everything they had to ensure the survival of the company they founded. Featuring their journey through a three-part mini-series is Discovery channel.

The channel will premiere ‘Harley and the Davidsons on 14 October at 9 pm’. The series will air on three consecutive Fridays – 14, 21 Oct and 28 October at the same time.

It looks at how the founders continued to grow its loyal following like no other competitor– whether it was securing the American Army contract and teaching riders how to make repairs on the field to embracing boisterous motorcycle clubs across the nation. They would eventually channel all their resources with their biggest risk yet – creating the world’s first superbike, a state-of-the-art racing machine for the masses.

The series features Michiel Huisman as Walter Davidson, Robert Aramayo as William Harley and Bug Hall playing the role of Arthur Davidson. Other cast members include Stephen Rider, Jessica Camacho, Daniel Coonan, Annie Read, Wilson Bethel, Dougray Scott, Gabe Luna, Alex Shaffer, Essa O’Shea and Sean Scully.

Based on a true story, the show charts the birth of this iconic bike during a time of great social and technological change beginning at the turn of the 20 century. Walter, Arthur and Bill risked their entire fortune and livelihood to launch the budding enterprise. Each of these men faced very different challenges, but it was the motorcycle that united their dreams and ambitions.

For Walter Davidson, the venture was a chance to escape from the confines of society – to ignore the rules and build a bike that could go anywhere and ride hard. For Arthur Davidson, it was an opportunity to finally make good on his name. And for Bill Harley, the bike gave him hope to break free from his overbearing parents and apply his talent as an engineer.

Built in a shed out of Milwaukee, these motorcycles were able to survive nearly every condition imaginable. And Walter certainly put the bikes to the test. His ferocious ambition propelled him to become a top motorcycle racer while competing in the deadly competitions sweeping the nation. Walter’s daredevil exploits put Harley-Davidson on the map – and while risky – pushed the company to eventually overtake their archrival competitor, Indian, which had a stronghold on the market.

Fuelled by ingenuity, innovation and design, the founders of Harley-Davidson faced off against their much bigger rivals.

The series has already been a success in the US.

September 20, 2016
NGC’s ‘Mars’ showcasing space revolution in Nov

MUMBAI: National Geographic is all set to initiate an unprecedented global event series called Mars. The show is produced by Imagine Entertainment and RadicalMedia for the channel. For Imagine Entertainment, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Michael Rosenberg are executive producers. For RadicalMedia, Justin Wilkes, Jon Kamen, Dave O’Connor, Jonathan Silberberg are executive producers. For NGC, Robert Palumbo is executive producer; Matt Renner is vice president, production; and Tim Pastore is president, original programming and production.

Premiering this November, the series is set both in the future and in the present day. The show intends to redefine television storytelling by combining feature film-quality scripted drama and visual effects with best-in-class documentary sequences to drive forward a cohesive, edge-of-your-seat story of mankind’s thrilling quest to colonize Mars.

This six-part global event series tells the inspiring story from the vantage point of a fictitious crewed mission to Mars in 2033. The scripted portion focuses on Earth’s first crewed mission to Mars aboard the spacecraft Daedalus. Its maiden voyage in 2033 is crewed by a carefully selected international team of six uniquely qualified astronauts, including:

Once Daedalus successfully lands on Mars and sets up a preliminary base of operations, British nuclear physicist Leslie Richardson (Cosima Shaw) will lead a Phase 2 settlement team along with her husband, world-renowned experimental botanist Dr. Paul Richardson (John Light). Those interviewed on camera for the series include the following:

• Charles Bolden, Administrator, Former Astronaut, NASA

• Neil deGrasse Tyson, Director, Hayden Planetarium

• Peter Diamandis, Chairman and CEO, XPRIZE Foundation

• David Dinges, Director, Unit for Experimental Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania

• Casey Dreier, Director of Space Policy, The Planetary Society

• Ann Druyan, Creative Director, Voyager Interstellar Mission, NASA

• Charles Elachi, Director, LPL (Ret.)

• Jim Green, Division Director, Planetary Science, NASA

• John Grunsfeld, Associate Administrator, Former Astronaut, NASA

• Jennifer Heldmann, Planetary Scientist, NASA

• Jedidah Isler, award-winning astrophysicist; emerging Explorer, National Geographic

• Thomas Kalil, Deputy Director, White House Office of Science and Technology

• Roger Launius, Smithsonian Institution

• John Logsdon, Founder, Space Policy Institute, George Washington University

• James Lovell, Former NASA Astronaut, Apollo 13 Commander

• Elon Musk, CEO SpaceX

• Stephen Petranek, author, How We’ll Live on Mars

• Mary Roach, author, Packing for Mars

• Jennifer Trosper, Mars 2020 Mission Manager, JPL

• Andy Weir, author, The Martian

• Robert Zubrin, President, The Mars Society

National Geographic will extend the show’s storytelling in an unprecedented cross-platform effort, including a six-part digital companion prequel series.

Further, Mars will be the November cover story of National Geographic magazine and will be featured in a stand-alone National Geographic book, Mars: Our Future on the Red Planet. It will also be featured in the NG Kids book, Mars: The Red Planet.

September 16, 2016
NGC’s ‘Mars’ showcasing space revolution in Nov

MUMBAI: National Geographic is all set to initiate an unprecedented global event series called Mars. The show is produced by Imagine Entertainment and RadicalMedia for the channel. For Imagine Entertainment, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Michael Rosenberg are executive producers. For RadicalMedia, Justin Wilkes, Jon Kamen, Dave O’Connor, Jonathan Silberberg are executive producers. For NGC, Robert Palumbo is executive producer; Matt Renner is vice president, production; and Tim Pastore is president, original programming and production.

Premiering this November, the series is set both in the future and in the present day. The show intends to redefine television storytelling by combining feature film-quality scripted drama and visual effects with best-in-class documentary sequences to drive forward a cohesive, edge-of-your-seat story of mankind’s thrilling quest to colonize Mars.

This six-part global event series tells the inspiring story from the vantage point of a fictitious crewed mission to Mars in 2033. The scripted portion focuses on Earth’s first crewed mission to Mars aboard the spacecraft Daedalus. Its maiden voyage in 2033 is crewed by a carefully selected international team of six uniquely qualified astronauts, including:

Once Daedalus successfully lands on Mars and sets up a preliminary base of operations, British nuclear physicist Leslie Richardson (Cosima Shaw) will lead a Phase 2 settlement team along with her husband, world-renowned experimental botanist Dr. Paul Richardson (John Light). Those interviewed on camera for the series include the following:

• Charles Bolden, Administrator, Former Astronaut, NASA

• Neil deGrasse Tyson, Director, Hayden Planetarium

• Peter Diamandis, Chairman and CEO, XPRIZE Foundation

• David Dinges, Director, Unit for Experimental Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania

• Casey Dreier, Director of Space Policy, The Planetary Society

• Ann Druyan, Creative Director, Voyager Interstellar Mission, NASA

• Charles Elachi, Director, LPL (Ret.)

• Jim Green, Division Director, Planetary Science, NASA

• John Grunsfeld, Associate Administrator, Former Astronaut, NASA

• Jennifer Heldmann, Planetary Scientist, NASA

• Jedidah Isler, award-winning astrophysicist; emerging Explorer, National Geographic

• Thomas Kalil, Deputy Director, White House Office of Science and Technology

• Roger Launius, Smithsonian Institution

• John Logsdon, Founder, Space Policy Institute, George Washington University

• James Lovell, Former NASA Astronaut, Apollo 13 Commander

• Elon Musk, CEO SpaceX

• Stephen Petranek, author, How We’ll Live on Mars

• Mary Roach, author, Packing for Mars

• Jennifer Trosper, Mars 2020 Mission Manager, JPL

• Andy Weir, author, The Martian

• Robert Zubrin, President, The Mars Society

National Geographic will extend the show’s storytelling in an unprecedented cross-platform effort, including a six-part digital companion prequel series.

Further, Mars will be the November cover story of National Geographic magazine and will be featured in a stand-alone National Geographic book, Mars: Our Future on the Red Planet. It will also be featured in the NG Kids book, Mars: The Red Planet.

September 16, 2016
Living Foodz to air ‘The Global Menu’ by Chef Ranveer Brar

MUMBAI: Fasten your seatbelts and get ready to jet set around the world with culinary mastermind Ranveer Brar in The Global Menu, the latest launch by Living Foodz, India’s premiere foodtainment channel.

With this show, Chef Ranveer aims to introduce cuisines from South America, Middle East, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Korea, Hungary, South Africa, Ethiopia, Mongolia and Burma, which have not been widely explored.

“The Indian palette, for the longest time, has primarily been exposed to a narrow range of ‘international’ cuisines, barely venturing beyond Chinese, Italian, Mexican, or more recently, Japanese food. Here too, what we get to taste are highly Indianized versions of popular dishes. During my many travels, I have discovered that the brilliant and delectable food culture across South America, Scandinavia and closer home in Sri Lanka, remains largely uncharted. I hope to bring the world to the Indian dining table with The Global Menu”, says an excited Ranveer Brar.

With this new spin on world cuisine, Living Foodz intends to change the perception of international food. Living Foodz business head Amit Nair says “The stereotype of the Indian with conservative taste buds is slowly but steadily changing, especially in metros. Today, we find millennials actively scouring for newer and more authentic global cuisines. The Global Menu taps into this trend of aspiring towards newer travel and food experiences. The show will definitely strike a chord with viewers as it bridges the gap between them and takes them an exotic culinary experience like never before.”

The Global Menu will introduce the audience to delicacies like Garlic Quinoa from Peru, Argentine Black Beans a la Olla, Berry Pilaf from Iran, Anzac cookies from New Zealand, Sri Lankan Koki, Hungarian Goulash and Samousa Thouk from Burma among others.

As the host, Chef Ranveer will ensure that the cooking instructions are interspersed with fascinating cultural and travel-based anecdotes, like how the collective obsession for ceviche in Peru led to the government declaring a ‘National Ceviche Day’ to commemorate the country’s favourite food.

Join Chef Ranveer Brar every Wednesday and Thursday at 2:30 pm, 7 September onwards, as he takes you on a journey of the culinary treasure troves around the world! Repeat telecast of the episodes will air on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 5 pm and 8 pm.

September 2, 2016
Living Foodz to air ‘The Global Menu’ by Chef Ranveer Brar

MUMBAI: Fasten your seatbelts and get ready to jet set around the world with culinary mastermind Ranveer Brar in The Global Menu, the latest launch by Living Foodz, India’s premiere foodtainment channel.

With this show, Chef Ranveer aims to introduce cuisines from South America, Middle East, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Korea, Hungary, South Africa, Ethiopia, Mongolia and Burma, which have not been widely explored.

“The Indian palette, for the longest time, has primarily been exposed to a narrow range of ‘international’ cuisines, barely venturing beyond Chinese, Italian, Mexican, or more recently, Japanese food. Here too, what we get to taste are highly Indianized versions of popular dishes. During my many travels, I have discovered that the brilliant and delectable food culture across South America, Scandinavia and closer home in Sri Lanka, remains largely uncharted. I hope to bring the world to the Indian dining table with The Global Menu”, says an excited Ranveer Brar.

With this new spin on world cuisine, Living Foodz intends to change the perception of international food. Living Foodz business head Amit Nair says “The stereotype of the Indian with conservative taste buds is slowly but steadily changing, especially in metros. Today, we find millennials actively scouring for newer and more authentic global cuisines. The Global Menu taps into this trend of aspiring towards newer travel and food experiences. The show will definitely strike a chord with viewers as it bridges the gap between them and takes them an exotic culinary experience like never before.”

The Global Menu will introduce the audience to delicacies like Garlic Quinoa from Peru, Argentine Black Beans a la Olla, Berry Pilaf from Iran, Anzac cookies from New Zealand, Sri Lankan Koki, Hungarian Goulash and Samousa Thouk from Burma among others.

As the host, Chef Ranveer will ensure that the cooking instructions are interspersed with fascinating cultural and travel-based anecdotes, like how the collective obsession for ceviche in Peru led to the government declaring a ‘National Ceviche Day’ to commemorate the country’s favourite food.

Join Chef Ranveer Brar every Wednesday and Thursday at 2:30 pm, 7 September onwards, as he takes you on a journey of the culinary treasure troves around the world! Repeat telecast of the episodes will air on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 5 pm and 8 pm.

September 2, 2016
Discovery brings new reality-drama series ‘Hardcore Pawn’

MUMBAI: Pawning is an old practice and pawn shops are a common phenomenon in the USA, where one can get quick and easy cash by pledging (loan) their personal belongings or selling their valuable items. Discovery’s new reality series HARDCORE PAWN takes viewers into the crazy and dynamic world of American Jewelry and Loan – Detroit, USA’s largest pawn store, where a wide assortment of customers bring in everything from gold to old cars, from alligators to prosthetic limbs to exchange for cash.

Viewers get a glimpse of the daily events at the pawn store where each day brings new customers, new rewards — and new drama. Premiering August 29, HARDCORE PAWN will air weekdays (Mon-Fri) at 8 PM on Discovery.

Follow the Gold family as they wheel and deal with colourful customers, manage temperamental employees, and squabble with one another in the name of making money in one of the most troubled cities in America. This isn’t a typical trading job; this is ‘Hardcore Pawn’. The Gold family and their employees never know what to expect when people’s personal items are on the line. As each episode of this fascinating series reveals, haggling over a price can quickly escalate into an all-out conflict.

American Jewelry and Loan (AJL) is owned by Leslie “Les” Gold, the grandson of a pawnbroker who has set up in Michigan’s iconic 8 Mile Road. Accompanied by his son Seth and daughter Ashley, both university graduates and future owners of the business, Les finds managing the sibling rivalry as challenging as running the business. AJL was opened in 1978, and has since become one of the largest and most recognized pawn shops in the world. The store handles anything from family heirlooms to electronics, from diamonds to heavy machinery. Each pawn ticket has a story, and there are over 45,000 stories to tell.

August 23, 2016
Discovery brings new reality-drama series ‘Hardcore Pawn’

MUMBAI: Pawning is an old practice and pawn shops are a common phenomenon in the USA, where one can get quick and easy cash by pledging (loan) their personal belongings or selling their valuable items. Discovery’s new reality series HARDCORE PAWN takes viewers into the crazy and dynamic world of American Jewelry and Loan – Detroit, USA’s largest pawn store, where a wide assortment of customers bring in everything from gold to old cars, from alligators to prosthetic limbs to exchange for cash.

Viewers get a glimpse of the daily events at the pawn store where each day brings new customers, new rewards — and new drama. Premiering August 29, HARDCORE PAWN will air weekdays (Mon-Fri) at 8 PM on Discovery.

Follow the Gold family as they wheel and deal with colourful customers, manage temperamental employees, and squabble with one another in the name of making money in one of the most troubled cities in America. This isn’t a typical trading job; this is ‘Hardcore Pawn’. The Gold family and their employees never know what to expect when people’s personal items are on the line. As each episode of this fascinating series reveals, haggling over a price can quickly escalate into an all-out conflict.

American Jewelry and Loan (AJL) is owned by Leslie “Les” Gold, the grandson of a pawnbroker who has set up in Michigan’s iconic 8 Mile Road. Accompanied by his son Seth and daughter Ashley, both university graduates and future owners of the business, Les finds managing the sibling rivalry as challenging as running the business. AJL was opened in 1978, and has since become one of the largest and most recognized pawn shops in the world. The store handles anything from family heirlooms to electronics, from diamonds to heavy machinery. Each pawn ticket has a story, and there are over 45,000 stories to tell.

August 23, 2016
India-Bangladesh to collaborate on documentary on 1971 war of independence

NEW DELHI: India and Bangladesh are to jointly collaborate to produce a documentary on the 1971 War of Independence of Bangladesh to mark the 100thbirth anniversary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 2020.

Information and Broadcasting Minister M Vekaiah Naidu told his Bangladesh counterpart Hasanul Haq Inu here today that the archival material available with Films Division, Doordarshan and other media units would be optimally utilized.

This documentary is proposed to be produced to commemorate the 50th year of Bangladesh Independence in 2021. Naidu also agreed to the proposal of Inu to facilitate the production of a movie by Bangladesh to coincide with the centenary of Bangabandhu.

Both sides also agreed to jointly workout a proposal for a joint Audio-visual co-production agreement between the two countries. It was agreed to organize Film Festival of India in Bangladesh and a Bangladesh Film Festival in India.

The Bangladesh Minister agreed to the request of Naidu to provide the celluloid version of the film Devdas directed by Pramatesh Barua, the Bengali version produced in 1935. Bangladesh had earlier provided the DVD version of the film to National Film Archives of Inda.

Referring to facilitation of Free Film Trade between the two countries, Naidu said Bangladesh could consider relaxing the legal provisions which restricted the number of Indian films in that country. The easing of restrictions would have a positive impact on the local film industry. The Minister also offered to train the young film makers and entrepreneurs from Bangladesh at the Indian Film and Training Institutes. He also mentioned that collaborative measures would be initiated between the National Film Development Corporation and Bangladesh Film Development Corporation to promote joint production of films and also between NFAI and Bangladesh Film Archives for digitization and archiving.

The Ministers during their deliberations also agreed to promote capacity building and training workshops for media persons, exchange programme for officers associated with Information and Broadcasting and exchange of programs between DD and its counterpart in Bangladesh.

Naidu said information dissemination is critical to counter terrorism which is a common issue plaguing both India and Bangladesh. Secretary Ajay Mittal and senior officers of the Ministry were also present in the meeting between the two delegations.

August 17, 2016