NEW DELHI: There are a host of news portals across South Asia, and newspapers too, that crave the reader’s financial support in these dire days as a way to stay clear of corporate or government charity to get by.

NDTV that has come under a corporate predator’s clutches this week was never one of them. Its worldview was assiduously pro-free market from the beginning, more so since the advent of Manmohan Singh’s economic wizardry in 1991.

As corporate interests coalesced with brazenly rightwing politics, NDTV found itself in a bind. The rise of Narendra Modi saw it making room for prime time interventions by rightwing analysts. In the meantime, it ran into financial rough weather, and was bailed out by those that scrupulous journalists seek to avoid being beholden to.

In a shrinking field for free media in India, however, NDTV continued to offer solace to the old school of news consumers, albeit in fits and starts. Its Hindi channel saved the day, with anchors like Ravish Kumar standing their ground and challenging the powers frontally to surrender to probity and demands of democracy.

A potentially debilitating blow was set into motion on Wednesday against NDTV, more so its Hindi channel, as a key business ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly initiated a hostile takeover of the bilingual TV firm. The move took NDTV’s proprietors by surprise, and the channel issued a formal statement to express its shock. The Gautam Adani group first came into prominence when Mr Modi travelled to Delhi from Ahmedabad in the company’s private plane for his swearing in as prime minister in May 2014. Since then the opposition has accused the government of lavishing sweetheart deals on the company. Reports said the group had made an open offer to mop up another lot of NDTV’s shares to give the company controlling rights. NDTV indicated its outrage and vulnerabilities too.

“Without any discussion with New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV) or its founder-promoters, Radhika and Prannoy Roy, a notice was served upon them by Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Limited (VCPL) stating that it (VCPL) has acquired control of RRPR Holding Private Limited (RRPRH). This entity owns 29.18pc of NDTV. It has been given two days to transfer all its equity shares to VCPL,” an NDTV statement said. It said VCPL has exercised its rights based on a loan agreement it entered with NDTV founders Radhika and Prannoy Roy in 2009-10.

“The NDTV founders and the Company would like to make it clear that this exercise of rights by VCPL was executed without any input from, conversation with, or consent of the NDTV founders, who, like NDTV, have been made aware of this exercise of rights only today. As recently as yesterday, NDTV had informed the stock exchanges that there was no change in the shareholding of its founders.”

On Tuesday, Adani Enterprises announced that it would acquire a 29.18pc stake in the NDTV group through a subsidiary company. The Adani Group said it would also launch an open offer to buy another 26pc of NDTV’s shares. This would effectively give it majority control over one of India’s best-known news brands and among the very few that continue to be critical of the Modi government.

A three-decade old channel, NDTV has been mostly regarded as more open-minded in discussing India’s communal and caste disparities than most others. This, even though its English channel strove to keep the rightwing nationalist government in good humour by inserting extra spokespersons for the BJP, often dressed as neutral analysts, in nationally watched debates. It was the Hindi channel that became the mainstay of the media’s fight for space for criticism and free speech, something the media-shy prime minister appears unprepared to accept. Its main anchor, Ravish Kumar, won the Magsaysay Award for his outspoken analysis of the running story and his in-depth coverage of social and political backstage.

Reports said the seeds for the NDTV’s takeover had been laid almost a decade and a half ago — by Reliance Industries Limited, the conglomerate owned by Mukesh Ambani.

On Tuesday, AMG Media Networks Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, bought 100pc of the equity stakes in Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Limited for Rs1.13 billion. It is through this company that Adani Enterprises is acquiring NDTV shares. Incor­p­orated in 2008, Vishvap­radhan Commercial Private Limited describes itself as a mana­g­ement and consultancy services company but owns no assets.

According to Scroll.in news portal, in 2009, it had offered an unsecured loan of about Rs4bn to Radhika Roy Prannoy Roy Private Limited, an entity that held a 29pc share of NDTV.

Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Limited had got the money from another company called Shinano Retail Private Limited in the form of another unsecured loan the same financial year.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2022