MUMBAI: With election process on in some of the Indian states, the domestic news channels have already got enough in their plates to report on. Now, with the general election on the anvil, while the channels in the home turf are all ready to report on it, it seems global giant BBC World News also doesn’t want to miss the big event. With a new series, India Direct, it is also looking to make the best of the opportunity.

BBC Global News CEO Jim Egan launched the series on Tuesday in Mumbai. He says the series will be a mix of hardcore news and features with Indian emphasis on their regular bulletins. “India Direct will be showcased at a time when the attention is likely to be on India more so because of the general elections,” says Egan.

The series that is slated to go on air from 8 February 2014 and will go on for two weeks will have a slew of election special programmes.

Other shows in the series would include Working Lives that will showcase the diverse culture of Gujarat, its people and and the economic spectrum of the state. One Square Mile will highlight the game of football in Pune FC. Talking Movies will bring to the fore the culture and art of the country, especially regional movies. Fast: Track will be a travel news show displaying various places like Mumbai, Goa, Ahmedabad, Karnataka etc.

“The shows are for our global audiences and not just our audiences in India,” emphasises Egan.

Egan feels that although globalisation is a modern trend, BBC has been on the mission of bringing latest events that are impartial and independent from across the world since almost 90 years.  It is also looking at multimedia very seriously.

BBC has done similar series earlier as well with a focus on countries like Singapore, Vietnam, Mozambique, Croatia, Canada, Georgia, Ecuador and Qatar.