When RT India flips the broadcasting switch on December 5, it won’t just be another channel launching – it will mark a milestone in how the global media sees India.
The launch has been in the works for months. Over the past two weeks, the Indian capital has become a visual runway for the brand, as well as a showcase of Russia-India friendship: Oversized billboards glowing over arterial roads, airport terminal screens looping bold taglines, and a metro campaign that stretches across the Yellow Line – one of the busiest in the capital.
The marketing blitz has generated as much curiosity as debate, turning daily commutes into reminders of an international broadcaster staking its ground.
On the Yellow Line of the metro, where office workers, students, and tourists converge in one noisy swirl, 28-year-old media student Amrita Singh paused on the crowded platform to watch a train wrapped in RT’s green and black colors pull in.
She raised her phone, capturing a quick photo before boarding. “It’s not every day you see a foreign channel take over an entire metro line,” she said with a smile.
“This seems to really bring a new voice in the media landscape,” she said, her eyes following the train as it disappeared into the station tunnel.
RT India’s arrival isn’t happening in a vacuum – it comes at a time when ties between New Delhi and Moscow are being actively renewed and coincides with the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to New Delhi for the 23rd annual India-Russia summit.
For decades, Russia has been one of India’s most consistent defense and energy partners, supplying major military hardware and discounted crude oil – often under scrutiny from Western capitals.
“India-Russia relations have demonstrated a degree of resilience despite the challenges of recent years, particularly the sustained Western censure of New Delhi’s calibrated posture on the Ukraine conflict,” Dr. Mohmad Waseem Malla, a research fellow at the International Center for Peace Studies in New Delhi, said.
He added that Indo-Russian ties remain firmly grounded, with defense cooperation serving as the principal anchor that has helped mitigate third-party pressure.
“This relationship has been susceptible to external pressures, with US President Donald Trump’s recent extra trade tariffs on New Delhi for buying Russian oil.”
In this context, RT India is being viewed as a ‘media bridge’ – a channel to amplify what people on both sides describe as shared perspectives, and perhaps to provide the Russian perspective to India’s large audience.
A senior journalist in Delhi who has worked for more than 30 years with various outlets said RT’s entry is significant at the present moment:
“India has become a global news hub now – not just because of its own stories, but because the world watches what happens here. For Russia, having RT India means being part of the huge media landscape that is shaping in Asia, with India at the heart of it. Undoubtedly, India is one of the world’s fastest-growing media markets.”
On the ground, the reaction to RT’s arrival remains mixed – but the dominant feeling is curiosity. Many locals say they don’t mind another international newsroom entering India as long as it amplifies issues that concern ordinary Indians.
“If they highlight stories of small towns, farmers, students, work stress, cost of living – they will be worth watching,” Niharika Sharma, a media researcher, said. “I have been following RT’s coverage of India for the last few years, and they have been really trying to tell the stories from all states with people at the heart of all those voices.”
Ravi Kumar, a 45-year-old taxi driver in Delhi, said he noticed RT ads on city buses but was unaware of what they meant. “If they talk real news – we need more voices than just one or two.”
Challenging the media landscape
Media analysts suggest that RT India’s arrival could reshape parts of the country’s complex media landscape. With English-language news audiences expanding and digital consumption surging, RT may find a receptive segment of viewers looking for alternative perspectives. “If they secure distribution on DTH, cable, or major digital platforms, they will be competing with the biggest players,” a media professional teaching at a Delhi university who requested anonymity said.
For Moscow, RT India is part of a wider campaign: A pivot towards the Global South and away from Europe and North America – particularly as many Western countries have banned RT broadcasts and forced the channel to shut down offices.
RT, according to local observers, has already become a respected news brand in India with its consistent coverage.
“The launch of RT India is a significant attempt by the Russian government to reclaim the popular imagination of India. Recent years have seen bilateral relations remain largely limited to government-to-government interactions, with minimal popular traction. If at all, Indo-Russian relations still carry the echoes of the Soviet era, with the people-to-people aspect taking a hit due to multiple reasons in the 1990s, including India’s economic liberalization reforms and Russia’s inward recalibration following the end of the USSR. In this context, RT India can be a potent instrument that can catalyze renewed Indo-Russian interactions, not only recuperating historical affinities but potentially elevating them to more substantive levels,” Malla said.
“In a city where media narratives swirl in scores of languages, an entrant like RT India could be a fresh voice.”