BBC to undergo organizational changes in India

The BBC will undergo a restructuring of its operations in India in order to comply with the country's foreign investment rules. As part of this process, four employees will leave the BBC and establish a new company called Collective Newsroom. The new company will include the BBC's six Indian language services, while the broadcaster's English language newsgathering operation in India will remain with the BBC. This move comes after the BBC's India offices were searched by tax authorities earlier this year, prompting the need for compliance with new regulations that limit foreign funding for digital news companies in India. These regulations require that any company publishing digital news content in the country must be majority-owned by Indian nationals. Rupa Jha, the current head of India at the BBC, will lead Collective Newsroom alongside Mukesh Sharma, Sanjoy Majumder, and Sara Hassan. The staff working in the six language services, as well as the members of the BBC India YouTube channel in English, will join the new company. Despite these changes, the BBC assures audiences in India that its Indian language services will continue to provide quality content. The BBC came under scrutiny for its potential violations of foreign direct investment rules following the searches conducted by tax authorities earlier this year. These searches occurred shortly after the BBC aired a critical documentary about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the UK. The Indian government, however, stated that the searches were legal and unrelated to the airing of the documentary in India. The BBC has had a presence in India since 1940 and currently employs over 300 staff members in the country. Jonathan Munro, BBC News deputy CEO, expressed confidence in the future of the BBC's operations in India, highlighting the rich history between the broadcaster and the country.