BBC on Tuesday said that four of its staff members are planning to leave the organisation to form a new entity, which will provide its language services in India on a commissioned basis, in compliance with India’s FDI investment norms.

Rupa Jha, Mukesh Sharma, Sanjoy Majumder and Sara Hassan will lead the new entity called Collective Newsroom Pvt Ltd. “The establishment of Collective Newsroom Private Limited ensures the BBC and Collective Newsroom can meet their shared commitment to Indian audiences and cover stories on India that matter to global audiences. It is in compliance with the Indian Foreign Direct Investment law,” it said in a statement.

According to Indian norms, FDI in digital new entities is capped at 26 per cent. BBC World Services India is 99 per cent owned by the broadcaster.

The broadcaster said that the new entity has been established as an Indian company, wholly owned by Indian citizens, with four existing staff members leaving the BBC to lead it. “The BBC will commission Collective Newsroom to produce its six Indian language services as well as Indian digital output and Indian YouTube channel in English for audiences globally,” it added.

Expanding presence

The British broadcaster has had a presence in India since 1940 when it first launched its Hindi language service. Currently, it provides content in six Indian languages, besides English, to 82 million people around the country on average each week.

Jonathan Munro, Deputy CEO, BBC News says: “The BBC’s presence in India is steeped in a rich history that has always put audiences first, so we warmly welcome the formation of Collective Newsroom which continues that progression. The BBC will get first class content from Collective Newsroom that will be rooted in India and in line with the editorial standards audiences expect from the BBC. We look forward to working with them.”

BBC News Hindi is the BBC’s language service with the largest audience and in 2023, across all platforms, its weekly reach figure grew 27 per cent year-on-year, it added.

Rupa Jha, Senior News Editor, BBC India, and founding shareholder of Collective Newsroom, says: “Audiences in India can be assured that the BBC’s Indian language services and unique range of quality output will inform, educate and entertain audiences across our diverse and highly engaged country under the agreement between the BBC and Collective Newsroom. We launch Collective Newsroom with big ambitions for audiences in India and beyond.”

Reportedly, nearly 250 staff members will transfer to Collective Newsroom. BBC Monitoring and the BBC’s English language newsgathering operation for global output will remain with the broadcaster.