England complete India whitewash

By Sam Sheringham
BBC Sport at The Oval

Fourth Test, The Oval (day five):

England 591-6 v India 300 & 283

Swann was the pick of England's bowlers as India collapsed at The Oval Graeme Swann bowled England to another stunning victory over India to complete a 4-0 series whitewash, as Sachin Tendulkar fell nine runs short of a landmark 100th international century.

Tendulkar and Amit Mishra looked to be batting India towards safety as they frustrated England with a partnership of 144 at The Oval.

But Mishra was bowled by Graeme Swann (6-106) for 84 and Tendulkar, who had ridden his luck to reach 91, was out to a marginal lbw decision in the following over.

India's remaining batsmen were skittled in quick succession as England stormed to victory by an innings and eight runs - their seventh innings triumph in 13 Tests - midway through the afternoon session on the final day.

Continue reading the main story First Test, Lord's: England beat India by 196 runsSecond Test, Trent Bridge: England beat India by 319 runsThird Test, Edgbaston: England beat India by an innings and 242 runsFourth Test, The Oval: England beat India by an innings and eight runs

When they finally broke the Mishra-Tendulkar partnership, England were ruthless, claiming India's last seven wickets for 21 runs in 94 balls, with Swann finally making his mark on the series with a spell of four wickets for seven runs.

It was England's first whitewash over India since 1974 and completed a memorable series in which Andrew Strauss's men usurped the visitors as the top-ranked Test side in the world.

"We had to work pretty hard for that," England captain Andrew Strauss told BBC Radio's Test Match Special. "When you enforce the follow-on, you're always asking a lot of the bowlers especially on a flat wicket. They stuck at it. To bowl India out for 300 and 283 on that wicket is quite a performance."

After India resumed their second innings on 129-3 - still 162 runs adrift of England - Tendulkar got his score ticking over with a four off the second ball of the day and reached his 61st Test fifty off 74 balls.

Continue reading the main story England - Stuart Broad182 runs, highest 74 not out25 wickets, average 13.84India - Rahul Dravid461 runs, highest 146 not out

Nightwatchman Mishra, who had served notice of his batting ability with a breezy 43 in the first innings, started to find the boundary with regularity, taking the partnership past fifty with a flick to the midwicket fence.

Tendulkar played and missed twice in a Broad over as he got bogged down in the fifties, but he eventually broke the shackles with a trademark drive through the covers for a boundary.

With Tendulkar edging closer to his hundred, the air of expectancy grew around The Oval, as a vast Indian contingent cheered his every run.

But the pressure seemed to weigh heavily on the 38-year-old's shoulders as he offered England a string of chances.

First, Alastair Cook at short leg just failed to hold on to a sharp bat-pad chance off Swann, then Matt Prior dropped a tricky caught-behind chance off the spinner, who also had a close lbw appeal turned down.

Mishra had equalled his highest first-class score with his 10th boundary when he finally succumbed in the 41st over of the day, bowled by a quicker ball from Swann that fizzed past his outside edge.

Tendulkar's show-stopping demise arrived in the following over when he played across a Bresnan delivery and was given out by Rod Tucker, with replays suggesting the ball would have clipped the top of leg stump.

With the "Little Master" back in the pavilion, India seemed to lose their stomach for the fight as England's bowlers ruthlessly finished off the match.

Suresh Raina was trapped on the crease by Swann before MS Dhoni and RP Singh were both caught off edges in the same over from Stuart Broad.

Gautam Gambhir sliced to backward point and last man Sreesanth was clean bowled after missing a huge leg-side heave off Swann.

After the match, England were presented with the ICC Test Mace to mark their status as the world's number one side.

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Hazare heaps pressure on India PM

22 August 2011 Last updated at 05:54 GMT The spontaneous outbreak of public support has become a matter of deep concern for the Indian government. Indian anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare has called on the government to pass a new anti-graft law or quit.

He has been on a public hunger strike since last Tuesday. An aide said he had lost 5kg, but was in good health.

Thousands of supporters are gathered at the vast Ram Lila Maidan grounds in the capital, Delhi, where Mr Hazare is conducting his fast.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said the government is open to talks with the 74-year-old activist.

Mr Hazare wants to force the government to strengthen an anti-corruption bill, which he regards as too weak.

He was released from Tihar jail on Friday after his arrest last Tuesday sparked mass protests across India.

On Thursday, he agreed to a police offer permitting him to go on hunger strike for 15 days.

He had previously vowed to remain in custody unless he was permitted to resume the protest which triggered his arrest. His campaign against graft has struck a chord with many Indians.

Massive protests

Tens of thousands of supporters marched from the Delhi monument India Gate to the Ram Lila ground on Sunday.

Continue reading the main story Following a hunger strike by Anna Hazare in April, the government agreed to draft the Jan Lokpal (Citizens' Ombudsman) bill. The final bill incorporates 34 of the 40 principles set out by Mr Hazare, but he and other activists have rejected itMr Hazare says the ombudsman should have the power to investigate the prime minister and senior judges. The government refuses to include them, saying their authority will be erodedMr Hazare wants the ombudsman to be able to investigate MPs accused of taking bribes to vote or ask questions in parliament. The government says such probes should be carried out by MPsDozens of protesters were detained after they demonstrated near the prime minister's house.

Thousands of people also joined a rally in support of Mr Hazare in Mumbai (Bombay) and protests were reported from the cities of Lucknow, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad and Surat.

This upsurge of support saw the authorities struggling to open a channel for communication with Mr Hazare.

On Saturday, PM Singh said the government was open to dialogue with Mr Hazare.

"There is a lot of scope for give and take... We are open to discussion and dialogue," Mr Singh said.

Reports said the government has roped in a senior bureaucrat from Maharashtra state, Umesh Chandra Sarangi, to negotiate with Mr Hazare.

"I had a few meetings with Mr Hazare over the Lokpal [ombudsman] bill. I have conveyed to him the views of the government. I am meeting him again on Monday," Mr Sarangi was quoted by the Times of India newspaper as saying.

Mr Hazare's supporters, however, said there had been no progress in resolving the standoff as the government had not made any fresh proposals.

Correspondents say Mr Hazare's fast has become a major embarrassment for the government and unless a compromise is found soon, it will further erode the credibility of the government.

String of scandals

Mr Hazare says the government's proposed anti-corruption bill is weak and wants his own tougher version to be passed by parliament.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has accused Mr Hazare of trying to circumvent democracy by demanding the overhaul of the bill.

But the spontaneous outbreak of public support has become a matter of deep concern for Mr Singh's administration.

India has recently been hit by a string of high-profile corruption scandals which critics say is evidence of a pervasive culture of corruption in Mr Singh's administration.

A recent survey said corruption in Asia's third largest economy had cost billions of dollars and threatened to derail growth.

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Dozens die in India truck crash

22 August 2011 Last updated at 08:20 GMT At least 41 people have been killed after a truck overturned and fell into a roadside ditch in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, police say.

The truck was carrying pilgrims to a temple in the state's Ballia district.

There were more than 60 passengers on board and police said that more than a dozen people were also injured

The ditch was full of water and police said that most of the deaths were due to drowning.

More than 100,000 people die every year in road accidents in India - the highest road death toll in the world.

Most of the accidents are blamed on reckless driving, old vehicles and bad roads.

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India helicopter crash site found

4 May 2011 Last updated at 06:54 GMT Mr Khandu was travelling with four others The wreckage of a helicopter carrying the chief minister of India's Arunachal Pradesh state has been spotted by search teams, officials say.

The helicopter carrying Dorjee Khandu and four others went missing on Saturday en route to Tawang from the state capital, Itanagar.

Three bodies have been seen in the wreckage near the Lugudhang area located at 4,900m.

Army rescue teams are tying to reach the site.

India's Home Minister P Chidambaram told reporters that the wreckage had been spotted in an area between Kyela and Lugudhang in Arunachal Pradesh, a location that "could have been" on the flight path of the helicopter.

A team of soldiers are on their way by foot to the crash site, he said.

India launched one of its biggest search operations, involving thousands of security forces, for the missing helicopter.

Reports said more than 10,000 people, including 3,000 security forces from India and neighbouring Bhutan, fighter jets and army helicopters were engaged in the five-day search in a mountainous, snow-clad region.

Mr Khandu's son, Tashi Tsering Khandu, had also joined the search operations by foot along with a team of 100 men.

The other passengers on the helicopter were Mr Khandu's security officer Yeshi Choddak and a relative of a state lawmaker, Yeshi Lamu, and two crew members JS Babbar and KS Malick.

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India search for missing 'copter

2 May 2011 Last updated at 05:25 GMT Mr Khandu was travelling with four others A massive search operation for a missing helicopter carrying the chief minister of India's north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh and four others has entered its third day.

The helicopter carrying Dorjee Khandu went missing on Saturday morning, 20 minutes after taking off from Tawang on its way to the state capital, Itanagar.

Bad weather has been hampering the search operation, officials said.

A number of Indian politicians have been killed in helicopter crashes.

In 2009, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh state YS Rajasekhara Reddy was killed along with four others in a helicopter crash in southern India.

And in 1997, junior federal minister NVN Somu and two senior army officers were killed when an air force helicopter they were travelling in crashed in Arunachal Pradesh.

Satellite help

Indian air force fighter jets and helicopters have joined ground troops from India and across the border in neighbouring Bhutan to look for the helicopter carrying Mr Khandu.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has also provided satellite pictures of the route that the helicopter, owned by Pawan Hans company, was scheduled to take on its way to Itanagar.

The other passengers on the helicopter were Mr Khandu's security officer Yeshi Choddak and a relative of a state lawmaker, Yeshi Lamu, and two crew members JS Babbar and KS Malick.

There were some reports on Saturday that the helicopter had landed in Bhutan, which were immediately denied by the authorities in Thimphu.

Last month, 17 people, including two children, were killed in a helicopter crash in Arunachal Pradesh.

And in November, an air force helicopter crashed minutes after take off, killing all the 12 passengers on board.

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India to pick European fighters

28 April 2011 Last updated at 20:20 India accounts for 9% of global arms imports, according to one study India has shortlisted two European fighter jets, ruling out two US rivals for a key $11bn (£6.6bn) military contract.

The Indian defence ministry picked the pan-European Eurofighter and France-based Dessault's Rafale ahead of jets made by Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

The US ambassador in India said the US was "deeply disappointed" by the news.

President Barack Obama had personally lobbied on behalf of the US defence contractors, as had European leaders.

"It is confirmed Eurofighter and Rafale have been selected and the remaining four are off," said the Indian defence ministry.

The other two companies to miss out were Sweden's Saab and the Russian makers of the MiG 35.

'Political setback'

The ambassador, Timothy Roemer, said: "We are reviewing the documents received from the government of India and are respectful of the procurement process."

He added that the US "looked forward to continuing to grow and develop our defence partnership with India".

However, some commentators suggested there could be some political fallout from the decision.

"The Americans will be very unhappy and people who have been backing the contract will say India has not sufficiently taken into account the political relationship with the US," said former Indian foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal.

"That is a political setback for relations."

Mr Roemer announced separately that he was resigning from his post for "personal, professional and family considerations".

Big spenders

A report published last month said that India had overtaken China to become the world's largest importer of arms.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said India accounted for 9% of all weapons imports between 2006 and 2010.

With a $32.5bn (£19.5bn) defence budget, India imports more than 70% of its arms.

The $11bn deal for 126 fighter jets is part of plan to spend $50bn over the next five years on modernising its armed forces.

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India anti-graft protests urged

8 April 2011 Last updated at 09:38 GMT Anna Hazare is on the fourth day of his fast in Delhi Hunger striking Indian activist Anna Hazare has called for mass protests by his supporters against corruption.

The 72-year-old campaigner is on the fourth day of a fast to push for stringent new anti-corruption laws.

He wants his followers to "fill India's jails" in a mass campaign of non-violent civil disobedience on 13 April.

Thousands of people have joined Mr Hazare's protest. In recent months India has been rocked by a string of corruption scandals.

On Thursday, the government agreed to include civil society members in a new panel which Mr Hazare is demanding be set up to draft tighter anti-corruption legislation.

But differences remain over who will lead the panel and whether it will have legal powers.

'No violence'

Mr Hazare has said he wants the "jail bharo" (fill the prison) movement to take place across India.

"But you should participate in the agitation keeping in mind Mahatma Gandhi. There should be no violence anywhere," he told his supporters.

India's governing Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi has urged Mr Hazare to give up his fast. She said his views would receive the government's "full attention" in the fight against corruption.

Doctors are checking Mr Hazare twice a day to monitor his health. The 72-year-old says he will refuse food until the government accedes to his demands.

There has been widespread support for Mr Hazare with protests and hunger strikes reported across India.

Some 2,000 people have joined the activist at the historic Jantar Mantar observatory in Delhi, where he is conducting his fast.

Correspondents say Mr Hazare has rallied people across the country disillusioned with the recent spate of scandals - he is highly respected as a social activist with an untarnished reputation.

Some of the recent corruption scandals to have angered Indians include a multi-billion dollar alleged telecoms scam, alleged financial malpractices in connection with the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games and allegations that houses for war widows were diverted to civil servants.

Last month the head of the country's anti-corruption watchdog was forced to resign by the Supreme Court on the grounds that he himself faced corruption charges.

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Booming: Television News Channels in India

News programmes have suddenly become hot property and are vying for attention with other popular programmes telecast in different channels. All major television broadcasters are including at least one news channel to their bouquet. The biggest headache for launching a satellite channel is programme software for round the clock. In this juncture, newsgathering is a major task for the 24-hour news channels. To cater this task, the emerging electronic channels have always made an attempt to cover all the incidents irrespective of position, location and time. These channels not only revolutionized the concept of news on Indian television but also changed the news formats. Before 1990s, Doordarshan had monopolized newscast on Indian television and also turned the news programs into a dowdy exercise. Now the private channels made the news an essential commodity like food, cloth and shelter. The strong point of all today’s news bulletins is their topicality, objectivity, glossy editing and high-quality visuals. News has traveled a long way from the DD era. From Local events to International events, breaking news to news analysis, television soap to page3 news, every happening comes under purview of news. In this article, we have covered some significant changes in news broadcasting in India before and after the Gulf War.

Indian Television - Flash Back

Television in India is undergoing significant changes in the current liberalized environment. To understand these changes, one needs to have some brief idea of the road covered by the television channels so far. The journey started as an experimental basis with a financial grant from UNESCO in 15th September 1959. The makeshift studio at Akashvani Bhavan in New Delhi was chosen for location of the experiment. The experiment started with one-hour program, broadcast twice a week, on community health, citizen rights, education and traffic sense etc. As far as news is concerned, it was launched exactly six years after the inception of television broadcasting. Daily one-hour program with a news bulletin was served to the Indian viewers. But one major drawback of television was that you could not enjoy the original colour of the objects because of black and white transmission. First multi-color programme was the Prime Minister’s address to the nation from Red Fort in Delhi on India’s 35th Independence Day. In the same day, DD National channel was launched. The aim of launching the National channel is nurturing national integration, and inculcating a sense of pride in Indians. Indian viewers also enjoyed the colored version of the Asian Games hosted by New Delhi in their drawing room. The coverage of major events and different occasions lend a big hand behind the infiltration of television signals to the nook and corners of the subcontinent. Indian Government had taken all possible steps to expand the television broadcasting demographically and geographically. In 1983 television signals were available to just 28% of the population, this had doubled by the end of 1985 and by 1990 over 90% of the population had access to television signals. In 1984, DD Metro channel was added to provide an exclusive entertainment for the urban viewers. In the beginning, this channel was confined to metropolitan cities.

As a public broadcaster, Doordarshan presented the news in naturalized manner. All controversial issues were pushed under the carpet. The ruling government had a strong hold on the television broadcasting. Doordarshan news bulletins were unable to provide the international news to the national viewers. Objectivity had been the first casualty as news was invariably slanted to suit the party in power. The news was liberated from the confines of the DD newsroom and gained in objectivity and credibility when New Delhi Television (NDTV) produced ‘The World This Week’ in 1988. Everyone was waiting for the Friday night to watch ‘The World This Week’. This was the only India-based programme, which looked out at the rest of the world. The World This Week was the best current affairs programme on the international scenario and carried good stuff of news, which the regular DD news was failed to carry out. This program is ranked as one of the country’s finest and most popular television shows. In 1989, NDTV produces India’s first live televised coverage of the country’s general elections. The critical and commercial success of the coverage sets a new standard for Indian television. After the Gulf War the media panorama has changed forever.

Golf War – The Catalyst

Post-1990 satellite television in India has become transnational in nature. It coincided with the entry of multinational companies in the Indian markets under the Government policy of privatization. International satellite television was introduced in India by CNN through its coverage of the Gulf War in 1991. In August 1991, Richard Li launched Star Plus, the first satellite channel beamed the signal to Indian subcontinent. Subhash Chandra’s Zee TV appeared in October 1992. It is India’s first privately owned Hindi channel to cater the interest of Indian viewers. This ignition followed by Sony and a little later by domestic channels such as Eenadu, Asianet and Sun TV. Entertainment programs had begun to occupy center stage in the organization’s programming strategies and advertising had come to be main source of funding. Doordarshan’s earlier mandate to aid in the process of social and economic development had clearly been diluted. Doordarshan had faced a stiff competition in news and public affairs programming with international channels like BBC and CNN. Doordarshan planned to sell some slots for news programme under sponsored category. In February 1995, NDTV becomes the country’s first private producer of the national news ‘News Tonight’, which aired on the country’s government-owned Doordarshan set a new landmark for Indian television because of its on-the-spot reporting with pertinent visuals. In the same year, TV Today Network occupied a 20 minutes slot in DD Metro channel and aired a Hindi and current affairs programme ‘Aaj Tak’. This programme became popular for its comprehensive coverage and unique style presentation by Late S. P. Singh. Still we remembered the sign-up message “Ye Thi Khabar Aaj Tak, Intizar. Kijiye Kal Tak”. Large number of viewers across India had been watching Aaj Tak as a daily habit because of its innovative style of news presentation. Besides that Nalini Singh’s five-minute fast paced, condensed daily news capsule Ankhon Dekhi, TV Today Network’s Business Aaj Tak and Newstrack was aired on the Metro channel of Doordarshan. This is the period when satellite channels concentrated on entertainment programmes for their respective channels. Doordarshan was still ruled the most wanted area ‘news’.

Major Players

Doordarshan’s monopoly was broken in 1992, when private television channels infiltrated into the Indian boundaries and entertain the viewers as much as possible. In the beginning of 1990s, the private channels offered only entertainment programmes. The entertainment programs include family drama, comedy serials, children programmes, cartoons, movies, talk shows, recipe shows, musical concerts, non-fiction programmes etc. Private entertainment channels added some infortainment programmes to their Fixed Point Charts (FPC). Keeping the demand of infotainment programmes in mind, the media houses started to produce news magazines, entertainment magazines and news programmes for different channels. India’s premier business and consumer news broadcaster and a leading media content provider, Television Eighteen India Limited (TV18) started India’s first ever entertainment magazine ‘The India Show’ on Star Plus in 1993. This emerging media powerhouse provided prime time television content to almost all leading satellite channels in India including BBC, Star Plus, Sony Entertainment Television, Zee, MTV and Discovery. After The India Show, TV18 produced a weekly business news program India Business Report for BBC World. Indian viewers had very limited options (like public service broadcaster Doordarshan, BBC and CNN) for watching the television news. For televised news, the viewers had to watch Dordarshan and some international news channels like BBC or CNN. In this race to provide more news, more information, Zee Television jumped into the battlefield by launching the news channel Zee News in 1995. This News and current affairs channel revolutionized the way news was delivered to the viewers. Since its inception Zee News has endeavoured to be the fastest to provide news, working towards a single goal of Sabse Pahle (Always First). The other round-the-clock news channel, the Murdoch-owned Star TV beamed its exclusively 24-hour news channels, Star News in 1998. Star made a contract of five year with Prannoy Roy-owned NDTV (New Delhi Television Company) to provide news content for this news channel.

The untiring exhaustive coverage of the Kargil war between India and Pakistan gained more publicity and attracted more viewers towards the electronic channel. This televised conflict also sets a news benchmark for wartime journalism. During the Kargil war, common citizens witnessed how their brave Jawans fought despite in hostile conditions and watched the war front live by the exclusively news channels, Star-TV and Zee-News. The live coverage of the battlefield helped to create a euphoria of patriotism among the Indian masses, which later facilitated into collecting huge funds for the welfare of the families of Kargil martyrs. Every news programme draws the attention of large number of viewers but Kargil war attracts private broadcasters to invest more money in the broadcasting business by launching a news channel. In November 1999, TV18 entered into a 49:51 joint venture with CNBC Asia to launch CNBC India. TV18 is the sole program provider to CNBC India, and produces 12 hours of local content per day on this 24-hour satellite channel.

After the huge success of news programme ‘Aaj Tak’, TV Today group launched a 24-hour Hindi news channel with the same name ‘Aaj Tak’, in December 2000, which covers India with insight, courage and plenty of local flavour. Within 11 months of its launch, Aaj Tak emerged as India’s number one news channel and was awarded Best News Channel award from Indian Television Academy Awards. Some mega events apart from regular interesting items (such as Kandhahar hijack, September 11 attacks, Afghanistan war, attack on Parliament, Iraq war, Godhra carnage and riots) have driven up the viewership. As time passed, NDTV’s five years contract with Star group for outsourcing of news and related programming expired on March 2003. With the expiry NDTV forayed into broadcasting business by simultaneously launching two 24-hour news channels; NDTV 24X7 – English news channel and NDTV India – Hindi news channel, which targets the Indian diaspora across the world. News crazy Indians received more news at faster speed from different channels. Any unusual happening can be caught by the television camera anywhere form Rastrapati Bhawan to bedroom. The power of TV journalism was become more visible by the major sting operations like Operation West End and Shakti Kapoor Case. This style of investigative journalism has brought about a change in the way we look at news, amidst new notions of editorial freedom. The world’s largest family ‘Sahara India Parivar’ launched a 24-hour national Hindi news channel, Sahara Samay, in March 28, 2003. It is the first ever city-centric satellite news channels covering 31 cities in India with their own city news bulletins. Keeping the demand of news in mind, the Union cabinet approved the proposal to convert the DD Metro to DD news in a meeting held on 3 October 2003. Consequent to these decisions, DD-News channel was launched on 3 November 2003. You might have noticed that the news channels are language specific. But DD’s news channel contains the round the clock news bulletins in Hindi/ English are also telecast twice a day on the National Network of DD National.

‘Aap Ki Adalat’ fame Rajat Sharma, Sohaib Ilyasi, the man behind the highly successful ‘India's Most Wanted’ and Taun Tejpal, editor-in-chief of Tehelka roped together and launched a free-to-air Hindi news and current affairs channel India TV on May 20, 2004. Indian viewers had more expectations from this channel. The much-awaited news channel hopes to set itself apart from the existing ones by setting new benchmarks of responsible journalism. Speaking on the occasion of the launch, Rajat Sharma, chairman, India TV, said, “We aim to change the way broadcast news reporting is being conducted in the country. India TV will set new benchmarks by maintaining international standards of responsible and credible news reporting. We will stay away from graphic depictions of violence and sensationalism of news. We will uphold the viewer's right to correct information and their right to truth and verity. India TV is not just a news channel, it is a movement.” NDTV as a pioneer in Indian television news, set to create a fresh revolution in high-quality business news with the launch of NDTV Profit. NDTV launched this 24-hour business channel on January 17th, 2005.

There is no saturation point in launching of news channel, just booming like sky as the limit. Entertainment channel to infotainment channel, infotainment channel to news channel, news channels to business channel and Business channel to lots more. Now the satellite channels become more topicality with international standard. When we are talking about topicality, CNBC TV18, the only business channel, continues to be the medium of choice for India’s decision makers, affluent audiences across the country since 1999. It has set the pace for the growth in number of television channels by launching a 24-hour consumer channel in Hindi called ‘ Awaaz’. This news channel focusses on empowering consumers on decision-making related to investment, saving and spending. All the programmes are catering to consumers across different walks of life, which included personal finance; variety of markets including commodity, stocks, savings etc.; small businesses; education & career guidance; and verticals like health, shopping etc.

Another news channel was finally launched into the already cluttered news space in Indian television. Jagran TV Pvt Limited's news channel, Channel 7 up-linked to the air on 27 March 2005. The channel has been set up to cater to the vast Hindi-speaking audiences, already being targeted by a slew of news channels. Channel 7 developed every programme with a bid to cater to all types of audiences and not just pre-dominantly male audiences who get attracted towards news channels.

Regional Leaders

To cater the interest among the Indians, Doordarshan televises programmes in Hindi and associate Official languages. It has launched a number of Regional Language Satellite Channels (DD - 4 to DD - 11 and DD - 13) and telecast programmes in Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Malayalam, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Kashmiri, Oriya and Tamil. The Regional channels relayed by all terrestrial transmitters in the state and additional programmes in the Regional Language in prime time and non-prime time available only through cable operators. The Doordarshan regional satellite channels telecast major news programme with some entertainment programmes.

If you think about the private regional channels, they have followed the path of the Big brother (i.e Doordarshan). They are neither completely entertainment channel nor exclusively news channel. They are following the middle path and claiming themselves an infotainment channels. The private channels televise through the state dominant languages. Rising advertising revenues and increasing numbers of viewers have provided the impetus for many big players to enter into the business. Some regional media leaders like ETV, Sun TV, Asianet have a strong grip over the regional market. Some major players tried their luck in different states. Zee television has three regional channels; Zee Marathi, Zee Punjabi and Zee Bangla. Star Network entered into Tamilnadu by launching Star Vijay, one of the most popular entertainment channels in India broadcasting in Tamil. Besides that ETV Network is a part of the well-established Ramoji Group, has created 12 dedicated infotainment regional channels. ETV network is the source of rich entertainment of eight different languages. Those are: Telugu, Bangla, Marathi, Kannada, Oriya, Gujarati, Urdu; and Hindi to viewers in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. Every ETV Network channel focuses exclusively on its audience’s unique cultural identity, its aspirations and its distinct socio-political character. Let us think about the south Indian language Telugu, there are around twelve satellite channels are roaming around the sky with different taste and different flavour. These channels include three news channels, one song-based channels and rest are infotainment channels. When we confine ourselves into news, three channels (ETV2, TV 9 and Teja News) exclusively devoted to news programmes.

Sahara India Pariwar is proud to have five news channels as the bouquet of Sahara Samay. These channels are: Sahara Samay NCR, Sahara Samay Mumbai, Sahara Samay Bihar & Jharkhand, Sahara Samay Madhya Pradesh & Chattisgarh, and Sahara Samay Uttar Pradesh & Uttranchal. Sahara Samay has already managed to gain a loyal audience in India through a bouquet of National & Regional News Channels since its launch. These channels are youthful and vibrant channels targeting students and women, besides that hardcore news stuff. The regional news channels covers the entire spectrum of genre with specific programs on lifestyle, fashion, food, shopping, health and fitness, sports, education, career and city issues, besides giving user-friendly information on traffic updates, city events, train and air timings, etc. Now national news channels cannot confine its boundary to national level. They cannot ignore the regional news because of the stiff competition form the regional cannels. Regional news channels are entering into the competition with a strong will power and also with an aim to portrait regional issues in national and international level.

Conclusion

Now the television industry becomes more specific. In this competitive market, channels are targeting specific viewers. News channels attract more viewers beyond their target by producing interactive and interesting programmes. Every channel needs to do an extensive research on different concepts and different themes to attract more viewers and in the same time more advertisers. After all, advertisements are the bread and butter for the channels. With increased consumer preference for news programmes, television news channels have grown faster than other niche channels. News channels are booming just like sky as the limit. Those days are not far away, when we will get satellite news channel for every major city in India. Staying in abroad, we can update ourselves about all the happening of our hometown. Now news is not restricted to political happenings. It will be extended its limit to every unwanted and hided corners of the society. At last we can reach in the conclusion that anything, which is strange or disgusting, is news. There are no rigid rules, which defines news.

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[http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/article/0],13673,501030818-474534,00.html

[http://www.chennaionline.com/musicnew/Channels/05indiatv.asp]

http://www.prdomain.com/companies/s/sahara_india_pariwar/news_releases/200303mar/pr_sahara_india_nr_20030326.htm

[http://www.scatmag.com/tamreach_sept05.pdf]

[http://www.agencyfaqs.com/media/media_newslets/Media/4899.html].

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/06/26/business/indianews27.php

The author is a media researcher in Journalism Department of ICFAI University. He has five years experience in electronic media in the field of Public Relations and Media Relations. His qualifications include a Master in Journalism and Mass Communication, had special paper Advertising and Public Relations.

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