RT India appoints Ashok Bagriya as Chief Executive Officer

RT (formerly Russia Today) has formally launched its India operations during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi, marking the broadcaster’s largest overseas expansion. The launch event, attended by senior representatives from both countries and RT leadership, signals a renewed focus on India as part of Russia’s broader international media strategy.

Ashok Bagriya, India’s veteran legal journalist and former Legal Editor at Hindustan Times and CNN-News18, has been leading the development of Moscow-based RT’s biggest overseas office, overseeing the creation of a state-of-the-art studio, a cutting-edge newsroom, and a team of over 100 professionals, positioning the network as a major platform for delivering global news to the Indian audiences.

On the launch day, Bagriya held a closed-door conversation with Herman Gref, CEO and chairman of Sberbank, who announced a USD 100 million investment to expand the bank’s operations in India. The discussion highlighted the wider commercial and strategic context surrounding Russia–India cooperation.

RT India will introduce four daily English-language news programmes. The network said coverage will include international news, India–Russia relations and the geopolitical shifts shaping a multipolar world.

The network’s India expansion comes after RT faced multiple broadcast restrictions in Western countries following the Ukraine conflict, prompting a shift in its global distribution strategy.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Peskov commented on the launch, stating: “I would like to sincerely congratulate the magnificent RT team and its viewers for launching your broadcast in India. Sometimes it’s better to lose the right to broadcast in the small democracies, so-called democracies, and launch in the biggest one.”