BBC World to air in Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu, Punjabi

London, Nov 17: BBC World Service will begin broadcasting in 11 additional languages including Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu and Punjabi.

It said the move was aimed at bringing its "independent journalism to millions more around the world".

The BBC World Service called it the biggest announcement since the 1940s. The announcement was made by Director-General of the BBC, Tony Hall, on Wednesday.

The BBC will also extend news bulletins in Russian, with regionalised versions for surrounding countries, and add regional programming in Arabic and short-wave and medium-wave radio programmes aimed at audiences in the Korean peninsula.

The World Service started out in 1932 as a radio channel for English-speakers in the British empire but has morphed over time into a provider of news to global audiences. 

It broadcasts in 29 languages, reaching an estimated 246 million people around the world every week.