IANS
Indian, pro-establishment/pro-BJP tilt
Background
Founded in 1986 by Indian-American publisher Gopal Raju as the India Abroad News Service, it was renamed the Indo-Asian News Service and grew into a major Indian wire agency covering domestic and international news, entertainment, and business. The Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (Reliance ADAG) held a majority stake starting in 2007. In 2019, IANS's own managing editor said the agency faced pressure from the governing BJP to soften or drop critical stories, and about a dozen senior staff, including the CEO and top editors, left amid concerns over editorial interference and a directive to avoid direct criticism of the prime minister. In December 2023, Gautam Adani's flagship company acquired a 50.5% majority stake, and in January 2026 AMG Media Networks Ltd bought the remaining shares to take full ownership, folding IANS into Adani's growing media portfolio alongside NDTV. Given Adani's close business ties to the Modi government, media watchdogs and journalists have flagged an increased risk of pro-government bias in IANS's India coverage. Its reporting on U.S. and international affairs, distributed widely to Indian outlets, is generally framed as neutral wire-service content rather than opinion journalism.
Sources
- Adani moves to 100 percent ownership of IANS
- Indo-Asian News Service - Wikipedia
- The Bamzai Scheme of Things: How the going got rough at IANS
- Adani Group Takes Full Control of IANS
Profile compiled 2026-09-24; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.