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The BBC has restructured its India operations to meet the country’s foreign investment rules just months after being investigated by federal tax authorities after the broadcaster aired a controversial documentary about Narendra Modi.
The British broadcaster last December announced it was splitting off its news operation to comply with the Indian foreign investment rules, which cap foreign funding for digital news companies based in India at 26 per cent.
The Collective Newsroom – an independent Indian-owned company founded by members of BBC’s India staff – will produce content for the broadcaster’s six other Indian language services along with digital coverage of India and the BBC India YouTube channel.
The BBC has applied for a 26 per cent stake in the new company, which would be largely independent of the broadcaster due to India’s regulatory requirements, it said.
“We have got the BBC as our first client and main client right now,” Rupa Jha, Collective Newsroom’s chief executive, told the Financial Times.
The restructuring comes a year after India’s income tax officials raided BBC India offices in Delhi and Mumbai, leading to further investigation by the country’s financial crimes agency, the Directorate of Enforcement.
What the government described as “surveys” came just weeks after the BBC aired a documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots that angered the Indian government. It featured an assessment from the UK government of the time that said prime minister Modi was “directly responsible” for the circumstances leading up to violence in which more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed.
The BBC has defended its production and said it adheres to the highest editorial standards. It also said that it was cooperating with government agencies in the investigations into its tax affairs.
The broadcaster employed about 300 journalists in India, about 200 of whom have moved to the Collective Newsroom. The new company, founded by four former BBC employees, would be able to make content for other news providers across India.
The BBC has retained a smaller team of about 90 reporters and producers for its English-language radio and television news channels, who would be directly working with the headquarters in the UK.
“Audiences will quickly come to know Collective Newsroom as an independent news organisation that leads with the facts, works in the public interest and hears from diverse voices and perspectives,” Ms Jha added.
In 2023, global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders ranked India 161 out of 180 countries, below Pakistan (150) and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan (152).
The Independent has reached out to the BBC for a comment.