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10 days ago
India news: TV ratings suspended over Iran coverage
Summary
India's information and broadcasting ministry said the move was meant to avoid sensationalism in the race to cover the Iran war. Millions of Indians live in the Gulf countries. Follow live.
Here are some of the top headlines out of India on Saturday, March 7:
Cooking gas prices in India saw a substantial hike on Saturday, as oil companies factored in the rising energy costs amid the conflict in the Middle East, according to local media reports.
The price of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) will now cost ₹913 ($9.9, €8.5) after a ₹60 hike. This is the second hike in a year that affects most Indian households.
The Press Trust of India news agency cited industry officials as saying that the price revision is due to a sharp jump in global energy prices since the US and Israel began their military campaign against Iran last week.
About 70-80% of Indian households use LPG cooking gas and the hike is likely to impact low-income families the most.
India's opposition, led by the Indian National Congress (INC), has expressed outrage after the US "agreed" to allow India to temporarily buy Russian oil.
In an interview with Fox Business, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had said that India was a "good actor" that had stopped the purchase of Russian oil at Washington's ask.
"To ease the temporary gap of oil around the world, we have given them permission to accept Russian oil," he said.
"This is not diplomacy, this is humiliation," the INC said in a social media post on X. "A country of 1.4 billion people, waiting for Washington’s approval. This is the cost of a compromised prime minister," the post said, referring to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi raised the matter in parliament on Friday, saying India's global standing had deteriorated to the extent that "the US will tell us who we can or cannot buy oil from...our prime minister will not decide."
"They will monitor and keep a watch... and if India buys oil from anyone they do not want, they will punish us," Gandhi said.
Gandhi has previously criticized the Indian government for failing to condemn the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and for maintaining a neutral stance after the US sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean.
Now, the matter of India needing US "permission" has grabbed national attention, with local news channels repeatedly playing the comments of opposition politicians on TV, on Saturday morning.
Modi is yet to comment on the criticism.
India's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) ordered ratings for India's top TV news channels to be suspended for four weeks, or until further notice, over their "speculative" coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran.
In a notice, the ministry said it has observed that "amidst the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict, certain News TV Channels are displaying unwarranted sensationalism and speculative content, which may potentially create panic among the general public, especially those having family and friends in the affected areas or residing in the affected areas."
Millions of Indian workers and professionals live in Bahrain, Dubai, Doha and other Gulf nations. Plus, Indian news channels have often been warned for their sensational reporting of conflicts.
In April and May of 2025, when India and Pakistan clashed over a deadly militant attack on Hindu tourists in India-administered Kashmir, some news channels aired fake newsin a bid to be the "first" and gain ratings.
Good morning! and welcome to DW's India News blog.
It's the weekend and a big one for cricket fans who are keenly awaiting the India vs. New Zealand T20 finals tomorrow.
As for today, New Delhi is hosting hundreds of diplomats and geopolitical experts for the third and final day of the Raisina Dialogue 2026. The conference is billed as India's foremost geopolitics forum, and it coincides with an escalating US-Israel war on Iran.
Iran's deputy foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh was present at the conference for a last-minute panel. There, he likened the war to a "TV reality show," saying the US was negotiating one minute and "carpet bombing" Iran the next.
In India, conversations about the war among friends and family revolve around concerns regarding Indian nationals stranded in the Middle East. Plus, thefate of oil and cooking gas prices is also a big one.
Stick with us as we bring you the day's biggest headlines and break down what Indians are talking about.
Here are some of the top headlines out of India on Saturday, March 7:
Cooking gas prices in India saw a substantial hike on Saturday, as oil companies factored in the rising energy costs amid the conflict in the Middle East, according to local media reports.
The price of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) will now cost ₹913 ($9.9, €8.5) after a ₹60 hike. This is the second hike in a year that affects most Indian households.
The Press Trust of India news agency cited industry officials as saying that the price revision is due to a sharp jump in global energy prices since the US and Israel began their military campaign against Iran last week.
About 70-80% of Indian households use LPG cooking gas and the hike is likely to impact low-income families the most.
India's opposition, led by the Indian National Congress (INC), has expressed outrage after the US "agreed" to allow India to temporarily buy Russian oil.
In an interview with Fox Business, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had said that India was a "good actor" that had stopped the purchase of Russian oil at Washington's ask.
"To ease the temporary gap of oil around the world, we have given them permission to accept Russian oil," he said.
"This is not diplomacy, this is humiliation," the INC said in a social media post on X. "A country of 1.4 billion people, waiting for Washington’s approval. This is the cost of a compromised prime minister," the post said, referring to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi raised the matter in parliament on Friday, saying India's global standing had deteriorated to the extent that "the US will tell us who we can or cannot buy oil from...our prime minister will not decide."
"They will monitor and keep a watch... and if India buys oil from anyone they do not want, they will punish us," Gandhi said.
Gandhi has previously criticized the Indian government for failing to condemn the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and for maintaining a neutral stance after the US sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean.
Now, the matter of India needing US "permission" has grabbed national attention, with local news channels repeatedly playing the comments of opposition politicians on TV, on Saturday morning.
Modi is yet to comment on the criticism.
India's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) ordered ratings for India's top TV news channels to be suspended for four weeks, or until further notice, over their "speculative" coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran.
In a notice, the ministry said it has observed that "amidst the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict, certain News TV Channels are displaying unwarranted sensationalism and speculative content, which may potentially create panic among the general public, especially those having family and friends in the affected areas or residing in the affected areas."
Millions of Indian workers and professionals live in Bahrain, Dubai, Doha and other Gulf nations. Plus, Indian news channels have often been warned for their sensational reporting of conflicts.
In April and May of 2025, when India and Pakistan clashed over a deadly militant attack on Hindu tourists in India-administered Kashmir, some news channels aired fake newsin a bid to be the "first" and gain ratings.
Good morning! and welcome to DW's India News blog.
It's the weekend and a big one for cricket fans who are keenly awaiting the India vs. New Zealand T20 finals tomorrow.
As for today, New Delhi is hosting hundreds of diplomats and geopolitical experts for the third and final day of the Raisina Dialogue 2026. The conference is billed as India's foremost geopolitics forum, and it coincides with an escalating US-Israel war on Iran.
Iran's deputy foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh was present at the conference for a last-minute panel. There, he likened the war to a "TV reality show," saying the US was negotiating one minute and "carpet bombing" Iran the next.
In India, conversations about the war among friends and family revolve around concerns regarding Indian nationals stranded in the Middle East. Plus, thefate of oil and cooking gas prices is also a big one.
Stick with us as we bring you the day's biggest headlines and break down what Indians are talking about.
AI Description
The Indian government has suspended TV ratings for coverage of the Iran conflict to prevent sensationalism. This decision is significant due to the large Indian expatriate population in the Gulf region.