News channels all geared to cover India’s tryst with GST

With just a few hours left for the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), India’s biggest ever tax overhaul, all eyes are on the special midnight joint session of Parliament on June 30, 2017. 

In what is being touted as modern India’s ‘Tryst with Destiny’ moment, several in media are drawing parallels with Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru declaring India’s Independence at a midnight session of Parliament. Since then, there have been two occasions when Parliament had conducted midnight sessions – to mark the 50th anniversary of the Quit India movement in 1992, and to commemorate the 50th anniversary of India’s Independence in 1998. 

News channels are all geared to cover this historic occasion and have been airing numerous programmes, interviews and discussions on GST in the run-up to its implementation. 

Commenting on her channel’s strategy to cover all aspects of the GST rollout, Shereen Bhan, Managing Editor, CNBC-TV18, said, “CNBC-TV18 has been at the forefront of covering the GST implementation. We start our special programming at 8 am on June 30 and will continue post midnight. India’s best tax experts will answer queries on the GST Helpline, Industry Interacts with key policy makers on GST Townhall, while global leaders like JP Morgan’s Jamie Dimon will weigh in on the reform. Besides, State Finance Ministers will join in to share the transition plan. From 8 pm onwards, CNBC-TV18 will join hands with CNN News18 to bring you the best political and economic analysis as the Government gets ready for the rollout in Parliament.” 

India TV’s Editor-in-Chief, Rajat Sharma, will be doing an exclusive show with the man in-charge of GST implementation, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, with an invited audience including chartered accountants, traders, housewives and financial experts. 

The channel has also planned interviews with Minister Piyush Goel and Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adiya, who are involved directly with the developments. 

Ritu Dhawan, MD and CEO, India TV, commented, “As a leading news channel, India TV has planned a series of specials to mark the country’s landmark transition to the much anticipated GST regime. The special programming has been planned with a focus on the channel’s commitment to provide best of the content to its discerning audiences.” 

She further said that the special shows have been positioned as ‘GST - Doosari Aazadi’. The same also includes the continuous super-coverage of the entire implementation process, nuances, expert opinions and what the business community and the general public has to say. 

“The day is here when India will take a historic leap to GST,” said Megha Tata, COO, BTVi, who added, “BTVi’s continuous, exhaustive coverage will reach its crescendo on Friday (June 30), when we bring to our viewers non-stop shows on GST starting 6 pm till well after midnight. Unmatched analysis, big faces and opinions that count are on the menu once again. The icing on the cake is our daily GST helpline, for which we will have a special edition on June 30.” 

ET Now has been championing this landmark reform, bringing exclusive interviews, news breaks and ground reports along with interactive shows. The English business news channel has lined up round-the-clock programming on Friday, June 30, featuring big voices from the Government, the Opposition and industry as well as market and tax experts, who will analyse every aspect of this game-changing reform. 

The special programming at ET Now includes the top architects of the GST, ministers like Piyush Goyal and Jayant Sinha. Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram will share the Opposition’s perspective and the politics of GST. 

Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia and CBEC Chairperson Vanaja Sarna will give the nuts and bolts perspective and clarify all queries regarding the GST. GSTN Chairman Navin Kumar shares his views on preparedness and logistics for rolling out this ambitious reform. 

India’s top industrialists, including Kumar Mangalam Birla, NR Narayana Murthy, Sajjan Jindal, Kishore Biyani and Harsh Mariwala, will be a part of the special programming. The market panel will be led by Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Vallabh Bhansali and Nilesh Shah

To get a perspective on the impact of GST on the Indian economy ET Now is interacting with the best economic minds in India, including former RBI governors Bimal Jalan and YV Reddy, besides Gita Gopinath, Rajiv Kumar and Arvind Virmani

Sandeep Gurumurthi, Managing Editor, ET Now, commented, “GST is the dawn of a new era for the Indian economy, it is the single biggest event that will change the course of not just the economy, but also how business is done our country. We at ET Now are calling it India’s Tryst With GST and leaving no stone unturned to herald this game changing reform that will set the stage for One India One Tax.” He added that the special programming is aimed at demystifying the GST, besides spreading awareness and addressing concerns.

Along with the coverage on the news channel, Aaj Tak has also organised a day-long Conclave today in New Delhi on June 30 from 11 am onwards. The conference will see Venkaiah Naidu, Minister for Urban Development, I&B, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviatio,n speaking on ‘GST & Realty’. Arun Jaitley, Minister for Corporate Affairs, Finance and Defence, will address the audience on ‘Get Set GST: India’s Tryst with Tax’; and many more eminent industry leaders, including Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport and Highways;, Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister, Delhi; Arvind Panagariya, Vice-Chairman, Niti Aayog; and Jayant Sinha; Minister of State for Civil Aviation, who will throw the spotlight on various aspects of GST implementation in the country.

To make the concept of GST simpler and easy to understand, ABP News had organised an event, named ‘GST Sammelan - One Country One Tax’, on June 27 in New Delhi. This key event has eminent political personalities like Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya. ABP News brought together these political heavyweights on one platform so that they could address questions of viewers and give their views on GST implementation. 

This event was telecast live from ITC Maurya in New Delhi. Questions were taken live from social media and the audience present at the event. The event was sponsored by Signature Mobile accessories, partnered by Suzuki Access125, and account partnered by Zoho Books.

Meanwhile, News18 India has planned a special 3-day programming line-up under ‘GST: Ek Desh, Ek Tax’ which is as follows:

Programming on 30th June

  • Live reporting from the main markets of different cities of India, throughout the day
  • Bhaiyaji Kahin – a popular travelogue-cum-chaupal format show which encourages an open dialogue, provides people with a platform to voice their points-of -view and gives them an opportunity to directly interact with political leaders. Special episode of Bhaiyaji Kahin at 6 PM
  • Live coverage of the parliament session related to GST

Programming on 1st July

  • Live reporting from different parts of India, through the day

Programming on 29th, 30th June & 1st July

Kitna Tax Badaa Kitna Kam Hua?- a graphic based segment which will highlight how the expenses will change after GST (includes everything groceries, bills, entertainment, etc.).

Speaking on the programming planned by CNN-News18, Managing Editor Radhakrishnan Nair said, “CNN-News18 is doing special 4 hours simulcast with CNBC-TV18 on 30th June starting 8pm. This will have anchors Shereen Bhan and Bhupendra Chaubey discuss the details of GST along with coverage of GST session from the Parliament. Apart from the simulcast, CNN-News18 is also bringing other shows to simplify GST for its viewers.  A special one-hour show ‘GST & You’ will take a look at how GST will affect the common people and their wallets. Next week, we will have a daily call-in show that will give viewers a chance to get their GST related queries answered by our experts. It is CNN-News18’s constant endeavor to help the common man understand new policies and decisions better that have a direct impact on them, thus carrying forward its philosophy of being ‘On Your Side’.”

 

 

Media
@adgully

News in the domain of Advertising, Marketing, Media and Business of Entertainment

More in Media