New Delhi, Sep 07: RT has launched its Hindi digital operation in India, expanding its India presence beyond its English-language offering to reach the country’s largest language audience.

The launch comes ahead of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12–13 and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s expected visit to India, where he is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Fark nazariye ka” — “The world looks different from here” — is the tagline accompanying RT Hindi’s launch. Journalist Runjhun Sharma, Head of News at RT India, features prominently in the launch campaign. Sharma, who has previously been part of President Putin’s media pool at high-level summits, has already begun fronting the Hindi operation, including a recent Hindi-language interview with Russian Deputy Ambassador to India Roman Babushkin.

The Russian Embassy in New Delhi has also announced the launch, describing RT Hindi as a new Hindi-language digital news platform. In the interview, Babushkin said the initiative would enable Hindi-speaking audiences to access information about Russia and global affairs, while criticising what he described as Western censorship and an ongoing campaign against Russia in the information space.

The launch has also received support from Indian public and political figures associated with RT India. Former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, host of RT’s In Conversation With, wrote for the Hindi platform, describing India-Russia ties as a steadfast and reliable strategic partnership and extending his best wishes to RT for the initiative.

Speaking about the expansion, Ashok Bagriya, CEO of RT India, said:

“The launch of RT Hindi digital operations marks a natural next step in RT’s commitment to India, with more than 500 million Hindi speakers. With RT Hindi, we are taking our India-focused journalism to an even wider audience, bringing our coverage of India, Russia and the world to Hindi-speaking viewers.”

Bagriya added that RT India has significantly expanded its team, with around 50 professionals from across the industry joining the operation. He also indicated that RT India could potentially expand into additional regional languages, with RT India continuing to serve as the umbrella operation.

RT launched its India operation in New Delhi in December 2025, with the initiative positioned as a media bridge between India and Russia. Since then, its India-focused programming has increasingly incorporated Indian journalists, political figures and public personalities.

The launch of RT Hindi represents the next phase of that localisation strategy — taking RT’s India-focused journalism beyond its English-language audience and into the country’s vast Hindi-speaking market.

With the dedicated Hindi platform rthindi.com, RT is now positioned to reach a significantly wider Indian audience while strengthening its India-focused media presence.