Collective Newsroom (CNR) has announced that it has been contracted by the BBC to produce content in Bengali and Urdu for audiences in India.

This expands CNR's current mandate of delivering content across six Indian languages as well as English and strengthens its commitment to serving diverse audiences in India with credible, public-interest journalism.

CNR will now extend its editorial and production expertise to Bangla and Urdu-speaking audiences across India, delivering news, current affairs, digital-first storytelling, and in-depth features across subjects including history, culture, business and health.

The programming will have a special focus on young and female audiences and will uphold the BBC's editorial standards of impartiality, accuracy and trust.

The move reflects the growing demand for high-quality journalism in Indian languages and underlines CNR's role as a key content partner in India's evolving media landscape. 

By integrating Bangla and Urdu into its existing multilingual operations, CNR will further enhance cross-language collaboration, and wider audience engagement.

Rupa Jha, Editor-in-Chief & Co-founder, Collective Newsroom, said: "This is a significant step in deepening our engagement with audiences across India. Bangla and Urdu have rich literary and journalistic traditions, and we are proud to bring focused, high-quality content to these communities in India. Our priority remains delivering journalism that is accurate, independent and relevant to people's everyday lives."

Sanjoy Majumder, Managing Editor & Co-founder, Collective Newsroom, said: "The expanded remit will include digital, video and social platforms, ensuring accessibility for younger and mobile-first audiences. CNR will continue to invest in editorial talent, technology and regional partnerships to strengthen its multilingual output. This milestone reinforces Collective Newsroom's mission to build an inclusive, future-ready newsroom that reflects India's linguistic and cultural diversity while maintaining the highest editorial standards."