RT Launches Hindi Operations in India Ahead of Vladimir Putin’s Visit
RT has launched a dedicated Hindi digital news operation in India, expanding the Russian international broadcaster’s local presence beyond English as it seeks to reach the country’s vast Hindi-speaking audience ahead of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s expected visit.
The new service was launched on:
September 7, 2026
through a dedicated Hindi digital platform.
The expansion comes only about nine months after:
RT India began English-language broadcasting from New Delhi in December 2025.
RT Hindi will carry coverage focused on:
India,
Russia,
international affairs,
geopolitics,
business,
and other global developments
for Hindi-speaking audiences.
The launch represents the latest phase of RT’s localisation strategy in India, where the network has been building:
local editorial operations,
Indian programming,
journalist-led interviews,
and a larger domestic newsroom.
The timing is significant.
New Delhi is preparing to host the:
BRICS Summit on September 12–13, 2026,
while Putin is expected to visit India and meet Prime Minister:
Narendra Modi.
RT’s decision to deepen its Indian operations around a major diplomatic period underscores the strategic importance the broadcaster places on the country.
RT Hindi Launches on September 7
The Hindi operation formally launched on:
September 7.
The service expands RT India beyond its existing:
English-language output.
A dedicated Hindi website has been introduced as the primary digital destination for the new operation.
The move gives RT access to an audience substantially larger than the English-language news market.
Hindi is used by hundreds of millions of people across:
north,
central,
and western India,
making it one of the world’s largest language media markets.
RT Targets More Than 500 Million Hindi Speakers
RT India management has highlighted an addressable Hindi-speaking audience of:
more than 500 million people.
That scale makes Hindi localisation strategically important for any international news organisation seeking mass reach in India.
An English-language operation can reach:
urban,
professional,
business,
and globally connected audiences.
A Hindi service can substantially broaden that reach into:
regional cities,
smaller towns,
and mass-market digital audiences.
Hindi Is Central to India’s Digital News Economy
India’s digital news market is increasingly being shaped by:
language.
Smartphone adoption and inexpensive mobile data have enabled millions of users to consume online news directly in:
Hindi
and other Indian languages.
This has reduced the historic advantage enjoyed by English-language digital publishing.
For international media companies, localisation is therefore increasingly necessary if they want to build:
significant national scale.
RT Hindi Uses “Fark Nazariye Ka” Positioning
The new service is being introduced with the Hindi positioning:
“Fark nazariye ka.”
The phrase broadly communicates the idea that:
perspective matters
or:
the world can look different depending on how it is viewed.
The branding aligns with RT’s longstanding strategy of positioning itself as offering perspectives that differ from:
Western international media.
That editorial positioning is also likely to shape how RT Hindi presents:
geopolitics,
Russia,
the Global South,
and international institutions.
Runjhun Sharma Features Prominently in Launch
RT India Head of News:
Runjhun Sharma
has been prominently associated with the Hindi expansion.
Sharma has covered high-level diplomatic events and has had access to Putin’s media pool during major international summits.
Her presence in the launch signals that RT intends the Hindi platform to be built around:
locally recognisable journalists
rather than simply translating material produced elsewhere.
That distinction is important for localisation.
RT Is Building Original India-Focused Journalism
A successful regional-language operation usually requires more than:
translation.
Indian audiences expect news organisations to understand:
domestic politics,
business,
regional priorities,
culture,
and local context.
RT’s India strategy has therefore increasingly involved:
Indian journalists,
local interviews,
India-focused programmes,
and domestic production.
Hindi represents another step in that localisation process.
Russian Embassy Backs Hindi Expansion
The Russian Embassy in India has publicly supported the launch.
Russian Deputy Chief of Mission:
Roman Babushkin
appeared in an early Hindi interview connected with the new operation.
Babushkin described the service as an important initiative for providing audiences with information about:
Russia
and:
India-Russia relations.
His appearance demonstrates the close relationship between RT’s expansion and Russia’s wider public-diplomacy efforts in India.
RT Presents Platform as Alternative Information Source
RT has consistently positioned itself as an alternative to dominant:
Western international news narratives.
Russian officials have also argued that the network can provide audiences with perspectives that they believe receive insufficient representation in Western media.
Critics, however, describe RT as a vehicle for:
Russian state messaging
and have raised concerns about editorial independence and disinformation.
That debate is likely to follow RT’s expansion in India as its audience grows.
RT Is Russian State-Funded International Media Network
RT is funded by the:
Russian state
and operates as an international news network.
It was originally launched as:
Russia Today
before adopting the shorter RT brand.
Its international operations have included services in languages such as:
English,
Arabic,
Spanish,
French,
German,
and Russian,
along with country-specific and regional platforms.
India is becoming another important market in this international strategy.
RT Has Faced Restrictions in Western Markets
RT’s global footprint changed significantly following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in:
2022.
Authorities and technology platforms across several Western markets restricted or removed RT services.
The European Union banned RT broadcasts as part of sanctions-related measures, while several distribution platforms in other countries also removed the network.
RT rejected many of the accusations made against it.
The restrictions increased the strategic importance of markets outside:
Europe
and:
North America.
Global South Has Become More Important to RT
RT has increasingly focused on audiences across:
Asia,
Africa,
Latin America,
and the Middle East.
These markets collectively represent billions of people and contain governments and publics with a wide variety of views on:
Russia,
the West,
geopolitics,
and the global order.
India is particularly significant because it combines:
enormous audience scale
with:
a longstanding strategic relationship with Russia.
India-Russia Relationship Creates Relevant Audience Context
India and Russia maintain extensive ties spanning:
defence,
energy,
nuclear power,
space,
trade,
diplomacy,
and education.
Russia has remained one of India’s major:
defence partners
and:
energy suppliers.
The relationship has also persisted despite substantial changes in the international geopolitical environment.
This creates strong audience interest in Russian affairs.
Bilateral Trade Has Expanded Sharply
India-Russia economic ties have strengthened substantially in recent years, especially through:
energy trade.
Bilateral commerce has moved well beyond its earlier levels, driven heavily by India’s purchases of:
Russian crude oil.
The two countries have also worked to improve:
payment mechanisms
and:
local-currency settlement.
These developments generate substantial demand for reporting on:
trade,
sanctions,
energy,
and diplomacy.
Most Bilateral Trade Is Now Settled in Local Currencies
Russia has said that the overwhelming majority of bilateral transactions are now being settled using:
rupees
and:
roubles
rather than traditional third-country currencies.
Russian banking institutions have expanded their India operations to facilitate these transactions.
The financial relationship gives RT India another major editorial area beyond:
foreign policy.
Business coverage can therefore become an important part of its localisation strategy.
Putin Visit Adds Momentum to Launch
The Hindi launch comes immediately ahead of another expected visit by:
Vladimir Putin.
The Russian president is expected to meet:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
during his India trip.
Major bilateral discussions are likely to draw attention to:
trade,
energy,
defence,
technology,
and geopolitical cooperation.
Launching the Hindi operation before the visit allows RT to cover the event for a much larger domestic audience.
BRICS Summit Strengthens Timing
The:
BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12–13
provides another major international news event immediately following the launch.
BRICS has expanded considerably from its original grouping of:
Brazil,
Russia,
India,
China,
and South Africa.
The platform is increasingly presented by members as an important mechanism for:
Global South cooperation.
RT frequently gives extensive coverage to:
BRICS
and:
multipolarity.
India Gives RT Direct Access to Major BRICS Audience
Launching Hindi before the New Delhi summit gives RT direct access to one of the largest domestic audiences within the BRICS ecosystem.
Rather than relying solely on international English-language coverage, the network can now present:
summit reporting,
interviews,
analysis,
and Russian perspectives
in Hindi.
This is consistent with a broader shift toward:
language-specific geopolitical media.
RT India Was Formally Launched in December 2025
The Hindi platform builds on:
RT India,
which began broadcasting from New Delhi in:
December 2025.
President Putin participated in the launch during his previous India visit.
He appeared alongside RT Editor-in-Chief:
Margarita Simonyan.
The launch established RT’s first major dedicated English-language television operation focused specifically on:
India.
Putin Personally Attended RT India Launch
Putin’s participation gave the launch unusual political visibility.
The Russian president described the India operation as an important development in providing Indian audiences with direct information about:
Russia
and Russian viewpoints.
The channel was presented as another bridge between:
India
and:
Russia.
The Hindi expansion now significantly increases the potential reach of that strategy.
English Operation Was Only First Stage
RT India’s English launch in December 2025 appears to have been designed as:
a foundation.
The network built:
studio infrastructure,
editorial teams,
programming,
production capabilities,
and distribution
before expanding into Hindi.
This allows the Hindi operation to use existing RT India resources rather than creating an entirely separate organisation.
RT India Remains Umbrella Operation
RT India is expected to continue functioning as the broader:
umbrella operation
for the broadcaster’s activities in the country.
Hindi therefore sits within a larger India strategy rather than operating as an entirely independent entity.
This organisational structure could make future expansion into other Indian languages:
more efficient.
Existing production and editorial infrastructure can support multiple language services.
Team Has Expanded to Around 50 Professionals
RT India management says its domestic operation has expanded significantly.
Around:
50 professionals
from across the media industry have joined its India team.
That indicates RT is building:
a local newsroom
rather than relying almost entirely on content supplied from Moscow.
Staffing is crucial because India’s media environment requires:
fast domestic reporting,
language skills,
regional awareness,
and local source networks.
Further Regional-Language Expansion Is Possible
RT India has indicated that it could eventually expand into:
additional Indian regional languages.
No detailed timetable has been announced.
However, Hindi may function as a test for a broader localisation model.
If audience growth proves strong, potential future markets could include major language ecosystems such as:
Tamil,
Telugu,
Bengali,
Marathi,
or others.
Regional Languages Dominate India’s Mass Audience
India is fundamentally a:
multilingual media market.
English is commercially influential, especially among affluent urban audiences.
But the majority of Indians consume substantial amounts of information in:
their first language.
Television news has long reflected this reality.
Digital media is increasingly doing the same.
For international broadcasters, regional-language expansion can dramatically increase:
reach.
Localisation Can Improve Engagement
Audiences often engage more strongly with complex news when it is delivered in:
a familiar language.
This is particularly important for topics such as:
foreign affairs,
economics,
defence,
and geopolitics.
Hindi coverage can make Russia-related developments accessible to viewers who may not regularly consume:
international English-language media.
That gives RT a broader potential audience for specialised global reporting.
Digital-First Strategy Reduces Expansion Costs
RT Hindi is launching primarily as a:
digital operation.
This provides important economic advantages.
A traditional television expansion would require:
distribution agreements,
satellite capacity,
carriage arrangements,
and significantly larger infrastructure.
A digital platform can reach users directly through:
websites,
social networks,
and online video.
That allows faster market entry.
Digital Distribution Is Especially Powerful in India
India has one of the world’s largest internet user populations.
Mobile devices are the primary gateway to the internet for a substantial share of those consumers.
This makes digital-first publishing particularly suitable for:
Hindi news.
Users can access stories through:
search,
social feeds,
messaging platforms,
video,
and direct websites.
A news company does not necessarily need a traditional television channel to achieve large reach.
Video Will Likely Be Important to RT Hindi
Although the Hindi operation is digital-first, video is likely to remain central.
RT’s broader identity is built around:
broadcast journalism
and:
video reporting.
Short-form clips can be distributed across social platforms while longer:
interviews,
explainers,
and programmes
can remain available through owned digital channels.
This allows one newsroom to produce multiple formats from the same reporting.
Hindi News Market Is Highly Competitive
RT is entering an extremely crowded media environment.
India already has numerous established Hindi news organisations across:
television,
newspapers,
websites,
YouTube,
social media,
and mobile applications.
These include both:
national broadcasters
and:
large regional networks.
RT Hindi therefore faces significant competition for:
audience attention.
Established Indian Brands Have Strong Distribution
Domestic Hindi media companies benefit from:
decades of brand recognition,
large reporting networks,
regional bureaus,
and established advertiser relationships.
RT cannot replicate those advantages immediately.
Its differentiation is likely to focus more on:
international reporting,
Russia-related coverage,
geopolitics,
and alternative global perspectives.
That could give it a distinct niche rather than forcing it to compete directly on every domestic story.
Geopolitical Coverage Could Be Main Differentiator
RT’s strongest competitive advantage in India may be access to:
Russian officials,
institutions,
and perspectives.
During major geopolitical developments involving:
Russia,
Ukraine,
BRICS,
energy,
defence,
or global diplomacy,
RT can provide interviews and commentary that Indian domestic outlets may find harder to obtain directly.
The Hindi service can then distribute that material to a much wider audience.
Editorial Credibility Will Be Closely Scrutinised
Expansion also brings greater scrutiny.
Because RT is funded by the Russian state, critics question whether its journalism reflects:
Kremlin policy priorities.
RT maintains that it provides perspectives often excluded by mainstream Western outlets.
For Indian audiences, the important consideration will be distinguishing between:
reported facts,
analysis,
official Russian positions,
and editorial interpretation.
That challenge applies broadly across state-backed international media.
International State-Backed Media Already Operate Globally
RT is not the only internationally oriented broadcaster linked to a national government.
Countries around the world support media organisations designed partly to project:
language,
culture,
policy perspectives,
and national viewpoints
abroad.
Such organisations can serve both:
journalistic
and:
public-diplomacy
functions.
Their expansion reflects the strategic importance of information in:
international relations.
Media Is Increasingly Part of Soft Power
News distribution can influence how foreign audiences understand:
countries,
conflicts,
economic systems,
and geopolitical events.
For governments, international media can therefore function as an element of:
soft power.
Russia’s decision to support a dedicated India operation reflects the importance it places on maintaining a direct communications channel with:
Indian audiences.
Hindi substantially increases that reach.
India Is Important Battleground for Global Narratives
India’s geopolitical position makes its information market especially significant.
The country maintains relationships with:
the United States,
Europe,
Russia,
Japan,
the Middle East,
and countries across the Global South.
It generally avoids aligning exclusively with any one geopolitical bloc.
As a result, Indian audiences are exposed to competing interpretations of major international events.
International broadcasters increasingly see India as:
a strategically important audience.
Platform Competition Is Changing International Broadcasting
International media expansion once relied primarily on:
satellite television.
That model has changed.
A broadcaster can now establish an audience using:
YouTube,
social networks,
mobile websites,
podcasts,
and streaming.
Digital distribution lowers geographic barriers.
It also allows international broadcasters to reach users without securing a position on:
traditional cable packages.
Social Media Could Drive RT Hindi Discovery
For RT Hindi, social distribution is likely to play an important role in:
audience acquisition.
Hindi-language news consumption is already extremely large on:
YouTube
and other social platforms.
Short clips covering:
Putin,
Russia,
global conflicts,
BRICS,
and India-Russia relations
could travel significantly beyond the audience that intentionally visits RT’s website.
This creates both opportunity and responsibility around:
context
and:
verification.
Monetisation Is Not Necessarily Primary Objective
Unlike purely commercial Indian media companies, RT’s expansion should not be assessed only through:
advertising revenue.
As a Russian state-funded international broadcaster, its strategic objectives also include:
audience reach,
visibility,
and influence.
This can allow the network to invest in markets where commercial returns alone might not justify a large newsroom.
That can create a different competitive dynamic from privately funded publishers.
Hindi Expansion Strengthens Russia’s Direct Communication Channel
The launch gives Russia a substantially larger direct media channel into:
India.
Official statements, Russian political perspectives and bilateral developments can now be presented in Hindi without relying entirely on:
translation by third-party media.
That could become particularly important during:
summits,
international crises,
sanctions disputes,
or negotiations.
India-Russia Defence Relationship Will Be Major Coverage Area
Defence remains one of the most closely watched areas of bilateral relations.
India has operated Russian-origin military systems for:
decades.
The relationship covers:
aircraft,
missiles,
submarines,
air defence,
and defence manufacturing.
Future negotiations and procurement developments will therefore attract large domestic audiences.
RT Hindi can potentially provide extensive Russian-side reporting on these issues.
Energy Coverage Is Equally Important
Energy has become another central pillar of the relationship.
India’s purchases of Russian crude expanded dramatically following:
This created significant:
trade,
shipping,
payments,
and geopolitical
developments.
Energy reporting can therefore attract both:
business
and:
general-news audiences.
A Hindi service enables RT to explain those issues to a much broader public.
Culture Could Provide Less Political Growth Area
RT India can also build audiences through:
culture,
history,
education,
travel,
science,
and people-to-people stories.
India and Russia have longstanding cultural ties.
Russian literature, cinema, science and education have historically had visibility in India.
Expanding beyond hard geopolitics could help RT Hindi build:
a broader identity.
Former Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid Associated With RT Programming
Former External Affairs Minister:
Salman Khurshid
has been associated with RT India programming and hosts:
In Conversation With.
He also contributed material around the Hindi launch.
The participation of Indian public figures reflects RT’s effort to build:
locally anchored programming.
Such partnerships can increase familiarity among Indian audiences while differentiating the channel from a purely Moscow-produced feed.
India Operation Could Become Major Asian Hub
If the Hindi service expands successfully and additional Indian languages are added, RT India could potentially evolve into one of the network’s more significant:
Asian operations.
India provides both:
audience scale
and:
media-production talent.
Its location also gives access to stories across:
South Asia,
the Indian Ocean,
and the wider Indo-Pacific.
This could make the New Delhi newsroom increasingly important within RT’s global structure.
Success Will Depend on Audience Trust
Scale alone will not determine the success of RT Hindi.
The more important challenge will be:
trust.
Indian audiences have access to a very large number of news sources.
To build durable readership, RT Hindi will need to demonstrate:
accuracy,
speed,
local relevance,
and transparent distinction between news and opinion.
Its Russian state funding will remain part of how many audiences evaluate its output.
Conclusion
RT’s launch of Hindi digital operations on September 7, 2026 marks a significant expansion of the Russian international broadcaster’s India strategy, taking its local offering beyond English and into a Hindi-speaking market of more than 500 million potential users.
The new service follows the launch of RT India in New Delhi in December 2025, when Russian President Vladimir Putin participated in the inauguration alongside RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan.
The timing of the Hindi expansion is strategically important. New Delhi is preparing to host the BRICS Summit on September 12–13, while Putin is expected to visit India and meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
RT India says it has expanded its local team to around 50 professionals, with the English operation remaining the umbrella platform for the group’s India activities and further regional-language expansion potentially following.
The Hindi platform gives RT a much larger direct channel for coverage of India-Russia relations, geopolitics, trade, energy, defence and global affairs, while positioning the network within one of the world’s largest digital-language news markets.
It also brings RT into an intensely competitive and politically sensitive media environment.
The network’s Russian state funding and its role in communicating Moscow’s perspectives will continue to attract scrutiny, while its success in India will ultimately depend on whether Hindi-speaking audiences see the service as a useful additional source of international reporting.
For RT, however, the strategic direction is clear:
India is no longer simply another market for its international feed. It is becoming a locally staffed, multilingual media operation at the centre of Russia’s efforts to engage directly with one of the world’s largest news audiences.