BBC Hindi appoints Sanjeev Srivastava as India Editor

Jul 11, 06: BBC Hindi has appointed Sanjeev Srivastava as India Editor, heading the radio and online operations in India. He has been promoted from his current position as BBC’s India correspondent and will be taking up his new role from August 2006.

As India Editor, Srivastava will be responsible for all BBC Hindi’s output generated from India across all platforms of delivery, including FM, short wave and online. Based in Delhi, he will be leading a team of experienced broadcast and online journalists on all BBC Hindi editorial initiatives in India.

Achala Sharma, Head of BBC Hindi service based in London, said, “India is an important market for the BBC. We are the leading international broadcaster. Our Hindi radio audience has grown by nearly five million in recent years and we know from our relationship with listeners that our new programming is popular. But we cannot afford to be complacent. India is changing fast, and news is a competitive business. I am confident that in Sanjeev Srivastava we have someone with the skills, experience and vision to provide excellent editorial leadership. He is a top grade BBC news journalist with an impressive track record and passion for reporting India.”

Commenting on his new role, Srivastava said, “BBC stands for quality journalism people can trust. Over 15 million listeners trust BBC Hindi to serve their needs with a range of news programmes. I look forward to building on that trust and expanding our Hindi audience with new editorial initiatives, which will engage them, inform them and entertain. These are exciting times in Indian media, and I relish the opportunity to play a role at this important time.”

Srivastava has been reporting from India for the BBC in a variety of roles for over 12 years. He began his broadcasting career in 1994, when he joined the BBC Hindi service in London. He launched BBC’s first Mumbai Bureau, reporting across BBC television and radio in English, Hindi and Urdu.

Then, following a stint as India Business and Western India Correspondent, Srivastava joined BBC’s South Asia Bureau in Delhi in March 2003 as India Correspondent. Prior to BBC, Srivastava worked in print journalism, including The Times of India and Indian Express.

Srivastava has been exclusively reporting on the life of modern day India over the last two decades. He has covered social, economic and political issues, such as the successive general elections, earthquakes in Gujarat and Kashmir and the bird-flu outbreak in Gujarat.

He has also tracked India’s fast changing place in the global order, geo-political and economic, as well as the country’s foreign policy, particularly Delhi’s relations with its South Asian neighbours, China, the US and Europe. In addition, he has reported extensively on India-Pakistan relations, the ongoing peace initiative and Kashmir.

Source: exchange4media