Over the last several decades, Asian News International, owned by the Prakash family, has enjoyed an unchallenged monopoly as India’s biggest television news agency. Entrenched in the power structures of Lutyens’ Delhi, ANI’s relationship with virtually every ruling party has been mutually beneficial. Successive governments have helped ANI maintain its dominance, and also been a direct source of revenue as clients of propaganda. Given the Modi government’s ideological unity with ANI’s owners, the agency will be a formidable tool in the hands of the ruling party in its bid to come back to power. Also in this issue: Urvashi Sarkar on the aims of the Observer Research Foundation; Christophe Jaffrelot on Muslim exclusion in Modi’s de facto Hindu Rashtra; Jyotsna Singh on what ails Modi’s flagship health scheme; Nikhil Menon on India’s history of elephant diplomacy; Amel Ghani on how a wave of targeted attacks has isolated Quetta’s Hazara community; Mantra Mukim on Bimal Krishna Matilal’s work on Indian epics; Zishaan A Latif on the transformation of a river island.