BBC World India is reportedly restructuring its shareholding to comply with the Indian government’s guidelines for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). According to the norms, foreign holdings in digital news entities is limited to 26%. Currently, BBC owns 99.9% of BBC World Service India.

A news report says that BBC News deputy chief exec Johnathan Munro will soon announce the same through a townhall scheduled on Tuesday.

According to the Centre’s guidelines, media entities that are local or registered in India have a 26% FDI limit. That brought BBC’s 99.9% stake in BBC World Service India into the government crosshairs in terms of non-compliance to the FDI norms.

As per BBC’s regulatory filings, BBC World Service India disclosed that it received a letter from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting dated March 31 about the said non-compliance.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) in 2019 capped FDI in digital news to 26%. In November 2020, the ministry instructed all Indian digital entities to comply with the cap and bring the FDI to 26% by October 15, 2021.m