India fines BBC
British state broadcaster the BBC has been fined for foreign exchange violations by India's financial crime fighting agency, the Hindustan Times reported on Saturday, citing sources.
The country's Enforcement Directorate (ED) fined BBC World Service India £314,510 ($397,980) for the violation of the 1999 Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), the paper wrote, citing an unnamed official.
Three BBC India directors — Giles Antony Hunt, Indu Shekhar Sinha, and Paul Michael Gibbons — have each been fined £104,836 ($132,400) 'for their roles in overseeing company operations during the period of contravention,' the official added. An extra penalty of $57.6 for 'every day after October 15, 2021, till the date of compliance,' has also been imposed.
The ED's investigation was launched in April 2023 following tax raids on the broadcaster's offices in Delhi and Mumbai two months prior. The searches were based on suspicions of 'deliberate non-compliance with the transfer pricing rules and vast diversion of profits'.
According to sources cited by local media, the investigation found that BBC World Service India maintained 100% foreign direct investment in its digital media operations, surpassing the 26% cap established by the government in 2019.
A statement from the British state broadcaster said 'We will carefully review any order when it is received and consider next steps as appropriate,' insisting that it is committed to operating within the rules of all countries it is based in, according to Reuters.
The probe into the BBC's finances was launched in February 2023, shortly after the broadcaster released a documentary examining Prime Minister Narendra Modi's handling of the Gujarat riots during his tenure as the state's chief minister. The Indian government had banned the documentary, calling it 'propaganda' and accusing the BBC of bias.
In February 2002, the state of Gujarat experienced severe violence following the burning of a train coach in the Godhra municipality, which resulted in the deaths of 59 Hindu pilgrims. This incident ignited widespread riots across the state, leading to the loss of over 1,000 lives, and displacing thousands.
At the time, Narendra Modi served as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. His administration faced allegations of complicity and insufficient action to prevent the atrocities. Modi has denied accusations that he did not do enough to stop the riots, and was exonerated in 2012 following an inquiry overseen by the Supreme Court.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Russia Today
4 hours ago
- Russia Today
Over 290 killed as UK-bound Air India plane crashes into residential building: As it happened
An Air India flight bound for London crashed into a medical college hostel just minutes after takeoff from Ahmedabad on Thursday, killing at least 290 people. Of the 242 people on board, all but one were killed, officials said. The total death toll includes victims on the ground, bringing the number of confirmed fatalities to at least 290, according to the Ahmedabad Police. The plane went down in a residential area minutes after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport in Gujarat. Videos of the crash circulating on social media show plumes of dark smoke rising into the sky. The authorities have not yet confirmed the cause of the crash. As rescue operations continue, one survivor has been identified. Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik informed the media that the passenger in seat 11A 'has been found in the hospital and is under treatment.' Local media reports indicate that 40-year-old Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national, was rescued by locals. He is believed to have jumped off the plane before it made contact with the building. According to Air India, among the 242 passengers, 169 were Indians, 53 were British nationals, seven were Portuguese, and one was Canadian. Police have also released a list of 25 individuals who were injured on the ground at the crash site. Local media, citing the Indian Medical Association, reported that three medical students perished while others have been hospitalized. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ordered rescue and relief operations. Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu and Home Minister Amit Shah have arrived in Ahmedabad to assess the situation. This live stream has ended.
Russia Today
2 days ago
- Russia Today
Narendra Modi visits plane crash site and meets sole survivor
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Ahmedabad on Friday morning to visit the site of the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crash that killed at least 290 people a day earlier. Just one passenger survived the crash on the London-bound flight, which had 242 people on board, including 12 crew members. The total death toll stands at 290, as the plane hit a hostel for doctors when it crashed, claiming additional lives. 'The scene of devastation is saddening,' Modi said in a post on X. 'Met officials and teams working tirelessly in the aftermath.' According to Air India, there were 169 Indian, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian national on board. After visiting the crash site, Modi went to the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, where he met the lone survivor of the crash, Ramesh Vishwashkumar, a 38-year-old British citizen. Ahmedabad police said Vishwashkumar, who was sitting near the emergency exit, managed to jump off the plane. He is being treated for his injuries. 'When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane all around me,' Viswashkumar told the Hindustan Times. 'Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital.' ❗️PM Modi Visits Crash Site Of Air India Tragedy In Ahmedabad#AhmedabadPlaneCrashhttps:// Footage from the wreckage area on Thursday showed rescue efforts, with bodies being retrieved and injured individuals, many suffering from burns, being rushed to the nearby city civil hospital for treatment. Visited the crash site in Ahmedabad today. The scene of devastation is saddening. Met officials and teams working tirelessly in the aftermath. Our thoughts remain with those who lost their loved ones in this unimaginable tragedy. The cause of the crash is unclear but the pilot had issued a 'Mayday' distress call, denoting a full emergency, soon after takeoff, Air Traffic Control at Ahmedabad said. Boeing, one of the world's largest aircraft manufacturers, has faced mounting scrutiny in recent years due to a series of safety and quality control issues. Most notably, the Boeing 737 MAX was grounded globally between 2019 and 2020 following two fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed 346 people.
Russia Today
6 days ago
- Russia Today
China optimistic on diplomatic relations with India
Chinese Ambassador to India, Xu Feihong has expressed optimism for strong diplomatic relations between the two nations. Speaking to reporters on Sunday in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata, Xu noted that the millennia of shared history between the two nations brings them beyond simple neighbourly relations. 'China and India have been civilisations for so long. We have such close cultural and historical interactions. So, why shouldn't we have good relations in the coming years,' Xu said. Though tensions and mistrust remain, he emphasized that genuine progress necessitates more than high-level diplomacy. 'It's not only up to the governments,' he was quoted by the Times of India as saying. Ambassador Xu's statements come against the backdrop of Beijing's recent overtures to New Delhi, to open up economic and people-to-people relations. The Asian giants have made efforts to reset ties Oover the last year, after the 2020 Galwan Valley clash along their disputed Himalayan border, in which soldiers from both sides were killed. After extended military and diplomatic discussions, New Delhi and Beijing announced in October last year that they had reached an agreement on disengagement from areas of tension and would work towards normalizing their relations. The announcement was made on the eve of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, where Chinese President Xi Jingping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a comprehensive bilateral meeting, marking their first such engagement in almost five years. In Kolkata on Sunday, Xu emphasized the importance of various groups, including think-tanks, universities, and students, as well as ordinary citizens from both sides, in fostering a positive relationship. He also highlighted the crucial understanding between Xi and Modi, which focuses on strengthening ties and keeping lines of communication open. VIDEO | Xu Feihong (@China_Amb_India), Chinese Ambassador to India, says, "China and India have been so long civilisations. We have so close cultural and historical interactions. So, why shouldn't we have good relations in the coming years? Of course, a lot of work needs to be… In April, Xi pointed out that China and India are both ancient civilizations, major developing countries, and key members of the Global South, with both currently at a crucial stage in their modernization efforts. As a step towards the normalization of relations, Indian pilgrims will be allowed to visit a pilgrimage sites of religious significance to Hindus, Jains and Buddhists at Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar in Tibet, after a gap of five years. Beijing has also called on New Delhi to restart direct flights between mainland India and China, as well as to ease visa procedures for Chinese nationals.
