Prasar Bharati’s PBSHABD has emerged as a free multimedia news feed for India’s wider media industry, providing registered organisations with ready-to-use news in text, video, audio, photographs and infographics across 15 Indian languages.
Launched by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on March 13, 2024, PBSHABD has expanded the reach of Prasar Bharati’s news-gathering infrastructure beyond its own broadcasting platforms. In two years of operation, the service has built a user base of 3,600 media organisations and offers content across nearly 50 news categories covering national, regional and local developments.
The service is available round the clock and remains free for registered users, with free access extended up to March 2027.
From Prasar Bharati News Service (PBNS) to a wider multimedia news platform
PBSHABD is an extension of Prasar Bharati’s long-standing news infrastructure rather than a news operation created from scratch.
Prasar Bharati, India’s public service broadcaster, is an autonomous body created under the Prasar Bharati Act, 1990, and came into existence on November 23, 1997. Its two constituents are Akashvani and Doordarshan, with a mandate centred on ensuring a fair and balanced flow of information in the public interest.
PBNS initially functioned as an internal news wire for the broadcaster’s editorial teams. Its news copy and feeds supported bulletins across Akashvani and Doordarshan.
That model changed in March 2024 when the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting launched PBSHABD in New Delhi. The name stands for Prasar Bharati – Shared Audio-Visuals for Broadcast and Dissemination. The platform opened the broadcaster’s news infrastructure to registered media organisations, offering them free access to ready-to-use content in multiple formats.
The evolution of the service reflects this transition:
1990: Parliament enacted the Prasar Bharati Act.
1997: Prasar Bharati came into existence on November 23.
Till 2024: PBNS operated as an internal news wire for Prasar Bharati’s editorial teams.
March 2024: PBSHABD was launched as a free, multi-format news-sharing platform.
March 2025: Free access was extended to March 2026.
March 2026: Free access was extended further to March 2027.
Ahead: PBSHABD 2.0 is planned with new product lines and improved delivery.
The term “shabd” also carries a meaning in Hindi, referring to the spoken or written word, reflecting the platform’s purpose of sharing news widely and quickly.
A multilingual, multi-format news feed
PBSHABD provides registered media organisations, digital publishers and content creators with timely and ready-to-use news from India and around the world. Its coverage ranges from developments in the national capital to those at district headquarters.
Content is available in five formats — text, video, audio, photographs and infographics — and in 15 Indian languages. The service covers nearly 50 news categories and caters to newspapers, television news channels and digital news publishers, among others.
The platform has no subscription fee for registered users downloading its content, with free access assured through March 2027.
Who can register
The registration requirements vary according to the type of media organisation.
Registered newspapers and journals can sign up with a valid RNI certificate, while television and radio stations require valid uplink and downlink certificates. Digital publishers can register by submitting a copy of their PAN.
Each organisation receives one login, which can be shared among journalists within the newsroom.
PBSHABD also differs from a conventional news agency in the way its content can be used. Its content does not carry a Prasar Bharati logo and does not require a credit line, allowing a small newspaper, for instance, to publish a national story under its own masthead.
A nationwide network behind the service
The reach of PBSHABD is supported by Prasar Bharati’s extensive news-gathering and editorial network.
More than 1,500 reporters, correspondents and stringers contribute to the news pipeline, while 60 dedicated edit desks work round the clock on the material received from the field.
Akashvani operates 46 Regional News Units and one headquarters, producing 607 bulletins a day in 92 languages and dialects. Doordarshan operates 31 Regional News Units and one headquarters, with more than 145 bulletins in over 22 languages and dialects.
Together, these networks cover almost every State and Union Territory.
This field and editorial infrastructure provides PBSHABD with a broad base for collecting and processing developments before they are made available to users.
Multiple editorial checks before dissemination
Content distributed through PBSHABD undergoes multiple layers of editorial checks. The service maintains safeguards against fake, morphed and manipulated content and exercises caution with material originating from unverified online sources.
Stories are timestamped, datelined and properly captioned, enabling users to identify when and where an event took place.
The emphasis is on content that is professionally produced, edited and verified before dissemination. The round-the-clock feed is intended to ensure that verified news reaches users without unnecessary delay.
Supporting India’s diverse media ecosystem
The expansion of PBSHABD comes against the backdrop of a media environment in which audiences consume news through television, newspapers, websites, mobile applications, YouTube and social media. Newsrooms therefore increasingly require content in different formats for different platforms.
PBSHABD connects Prasar Bharati’s news-gathering network with this wider media ecosystem, allowing newspapers, broadcasters, digital publishers, content creators and other media users to draw from the same feed.
The service can be particularly useful for smaller and regional media organisations that may not have their own correspondents in Delhi or overseas locations. Access to ready-to-use national and international text, video and audio content can help such organisations reduce the cost and time involved in producing news.
PBSHABD 2.0 on the horizon
PBSHABD has extended Prasar Bharati’s news-gathering capability beyond its own channels by making its content available to thousands of independent media organisations.
With its user base reaching 3,600 media organisations in two years and free access extended until March 2027, the platform is set to continue serving the wider media ecosystem.
The next phase is expected to come through PBSHABD 2.0, which is planned with new product lines and improved delivery.
By combining Prasar Bharati’s nationwide reporting network with multilingual and multi-format dissemination, PBSHABD represents an expansion of the public broadcaster’s news infrastructure into a shared resource for India’s diverse media landscape.
