Tag: India Business Report

  • BBC toasts to India’s rising economy with special business shows

    BBC toasts to India’s rising economy with special business shows

    MUMBAI: As the latest set of GDP figures are expected to show, India is on track to be the world’s fastest growing major economy this year. Taking a cue from this growth, the BBC is planning to bring tales of India’s development to its global audiences.

     

    Drawing on its news and programme making teams in India and the UK, BBC World Service, BBC World News and BBC.com/news will be delivering a wealth of content examining all aspects of India’s business, political and cultural life.

     

    The season launches with India Rising on Thursday, 27 August. This will be a pan-BBC News day of content delivered by reporters based in India working with journalists from the business and economics units.

     

    For BBC World News TV, business editor Kamal Ahmed will be reporting live from Delhi looking at how Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reforms have progressed and how UK companies are faring. On the other hand, Yogita Limaye will be travelling across the country visiting Indian firms hungry to expand abroad, whereas World News Asia business correspondent Karishma Vaswani will live in Mumbai with a range of guests, with coverage for the international news channel’s shows Global, Impact and World Business Report

     

    There will also be a round-up edition of India Business Report. Listeners on BBC World Service will hear from the correspondents as well as Indian economist and philosopher Amartya Sen, while Business Daily will explore the need for investment to help provide new opportunities for the millions living in poverty. There will also be content on BBC.com/news including animations, video and explainers to help audiences understand the data and what it means for India. Plus people can get involved using social media via #indiarising2015.

     

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Vaswani says, “Seasons will focus on the economic progress of India, and whether the nation is ready to be a replacement of China in terms of economic growth. I just interviewed RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, whereas Kamal Ahmed will interview finance minister Arun Jaitley. It will be two days of quality business content.”

     

    The India market is of immense importance to BBC and the British pubcaster is committed to present sublime content for the region. “I won’t say one episode of seasons or a certain interview is our goal. The expectation is to provide editorial quality to Indian audience,” asserts Vaswani.

     

    The focus on India will continue over the coming months with content across BBC World Service Radio, BBC World News TV and online at bbc.com/news.

     

    “With India’s economic performance under the spotlight, this is the perfect time to take an in-depth look at the country’s rapidly evolving business and financial landscape – from successes to areas of challenge – and focus on the people whose daily lives underpin the economy. For our listeners in India and around the world, we’ll also be discussing India’s dynamic arts scene, its wonderful food culture, and the importance of education for the next generation of growth,” said BBC World Service English controller Mary Hockaday.

     

    BBC Global News editorial and digital director Richard Porter added, “The BBC has a long history of broadcasting to and from India and we know our audiences here value what we do. Indeed bbc.com remains the number one international news site in India. Launching this season gives the BBC’s award winning international services the chance to showcase our commitment to this important market.”

  • Now BBC trains its lens on Indian elections

    Now BBC trains its lens on Indian elections

    MUMBAI: Not only political parties but news channels of every hue are gearing up for what is being billed as the mother of all general elections witnessed by this country.

     

    The latest to hit the 2014 election trail is BBC World News, a broadcasting network that needs no prior introduction. For the first time, BBC will be broadcasting live from India with three of its best-known anchors flown into the country to present their shows from the subcontinent – Jon Sopel with Global, Mishal Hussain with Impact, and Babita Sharma with Newsday.

     

    A week of special programming will lead into the main programming starting on the first day of polling on 7 April. This will continue for a week with the three anchors, along with special editions of India Business Report and Talking Business with Linda Yueh. Thereafter, it will rely on the expertise and knowledge of BBC teams in Delhi and Mumbai and the BBC Hindi service.

     

    Alongside the television programming, an Indian version of the bbc.com mobile site will be created for users to land directly on the India page upon clicking the main url. The online content will be trilingual, with predominantly English content along with some in Hindi and Tamil. Among others, the shows will explore angles such as what the election means for India’s neighbours like Pakistan and China and what it means for the rupee.

     

    “India is a massive market. The mobile penetration here is close to 200 million users. Our mobile traffic is up by 350 per cent in three years and there are profound changes going on here. The new India mobile edition will provide a tailored experience, including top India news stories along with global news headlines, video, business, sport and the best from our features content,” says BBC Global News CEO Jim Egan. “It’s a very big editorial undertaking for us. We haven’t taken the channel on the road like this. Topics that interest world audiences such as politics, economy, defence and culture, will be covered. We won’t do it superficially or trivially but bearing in mind that a majority of our viewers are outside India, we won’t do in-depth analysis like local channels.”

     

    BBC correspondent-anchor Sopel is excited to be covering elections live in India. “Election in India is important because India is important. We have a polling day and you have a polling month! That’s because your total electorate is 840 million and the UK just has 48 million,” he says.

     

    While adding a local flavour to its programming, the global broadcaster will ensure it serves BBC values such as impartiality, fairness and balance. “No other international channel has the network of specialist language correspondents that we have,” says Sopel.

     

    On the cards is a marketing campaign in major metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai to let audiences know about BBC’s election coverage both on- and off- air. As of now though, BBC is busy figuring out whether to place the satellite dish in Mumbai or the national capital, depending on costs and feasibility.