NDTV takeover ‘about responsibility, not business’
INDIAN billionaire Gautam Adani sees the takeover of news broadcaster New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) as a “responsibility” rather than a business opportunity, he told the Financial Times last Friday
(25).
The ports-to-energy conglomerate run by Adani, Asia’s richest person, unveiled plans late in August to acquire a majority stake in NDTV.
The takeover attempt has triggered concerns among some journalists and politicians that a change of ownership could undermine NDTV’s editorial integrity.
Founded in 1988 and owned by husband-andwife team Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy, NDTV previously said the move by Adani Group “was executed without any input from, conversation with, or consent of the NDTV founders”.
“Independence means if government has done something wrong, you say it’s wrong,” Adani said in the FT interview. “But at the same time, you should have courage when the government is doing the right thing every day. You have to also say that.”
Adani, 60, has an estimated net worth of $134 billion (£112bn) and interests ranging from Australian coal mines to India’s busiest ports.
He is also seen as a close acolyte of prime minister Narendra Modi, often publicly supporting his policies. In a wide-ranging interview, Adani added it was time for India to have a global news conglomerate on par with Al Jazeera.
NDTV’s two channels, one in Hindi and one in English, stand out among India’s myriad rolling news broadcasters for inviting on critics of the government as well as their hard-hitting reporting.
It has already been hit by a slew of legal cases that its owners said were a result of its reporting.