Asianet News Digital introduces Marathi platform in Mumbai

The launch happened on December 5, 2023 in the presence of Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy CM of Maharashtra.

Asianetnews.com, the digital platform of Asianet News Media and Entertainment (ANMEPL) has launched its eighth language platform in Marathi. The launch took place at the Press Club in Mumbai.

Devendra Fadnavis, deputy CM of Maharashtra, attended the event as the chief guest. Other eminent personalities including Ramnath Sonawane, secretary, Maharashtra water resources regulatory authority, Pravin Dabas, actor and director and Preeti Jhangiani, actor and producer were also present on the occasion.

Asianetnews.com is already present in Malayalam, Kannada, English, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Bangla. With the launch of Marathi, the group’s digital news media has spread its wings to the west as it aims to expand its footprint nationally and globally.

Fadnavis stressed the need for genuine news providers such as Asianet News to clamp down on fake content, especially the threat posed by AI-based platforms such as Deepfake and other similar Indian apps. He highlighted the role that digital media has to play to curb the spread of misinformation and help deliver credible news to the Marathi diaspora and help shape the opinion of the society.

Rajesh Kalra, executive chairman Asianet News Group spoke about the thought process behind this development. “With Maharashtra having the third most internet penetration in the country, Marathi is obviously a key language for Bharat. When we were looking at expanding into other languages, Marathi was a unanimous choice”, he said.

Neeraj Kohli, chief executive officer, Asianet News Group, elaborated, “We are aiming to replicate the success of our other 7 languages to Marathi and justify the faith put in us by the people of Maharashtra.”

Samarth Sharma, group chief operating officer, added, “We will be putting all our efforts to deliver ‘Straight, Bold, Relentless’, news coverage to the Marathi diaspora spread across the world. With a strong team of journalists working round the clock, our news bureau is set to establish Asianet News Marathi as the most trusted source of news.”

The ANN group has a multi-media presence across the country in multiple languages via its TV channels, print publication, music platform and digital platforms.