Launching a 'Desi' BBC: Is there global appetite for India's point of view?

The UK has BBC World, France has France 24 and TV5 Monde Asie, Germany has DW TV, China has multilingual global CCTV, CGTN and CNC World, Russia has Russia Today in English and Spanish, Japan has NHK-

In the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic the government has decided to set up an international television channel along the lines of BBC World. Prasar Bharati, which controls official government TV channels, has floated a global tender for a consultant to prepare a detailed project report. Christened Doordarshan International, the channel would “project India’s point of view globally on contemporary issues of both global and domestic significance” and “tell the India Story to a global audience.”

Nowhere in its “Mission and Objectives” is Prasar Bharati mandated project India globally. Its prime directive is to safeguard the Indian citizen’s “right to