The Better India

The Better India is an Indian digital media platform focused on positive stories.[1][2][3]

The Better India
Formation2009
FounderDhimant Parekh
Anuradha Kedia
Founded atBangalore, India
TypeDigital journalisms, Positive journalism
Websitewww.thebetterindia.com

Background

In 2015, The Better India got Rs 1 crore ($160,000) funding.[4][5][6] More recently in 2018, The Better India raised an undisclosed amount funding from the Lok Foundation[7] and also receives financial support from the Independent & Public Spirited Media Foundation.[8] The Better India also receives advertisements and sponsorship for content.[9][10]

The Better India shares content over various platforms to over 30 million people.[10] The site now has 2.1 million followers on Facebook[11] and is present on Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. 100,000 people subscribe to its email newsletters and 35,000 subscribe to its WhatsApp channel.[2]

The Better India is run by Vikara Services Pvt Ltd, a company founded in 2008 and is based in Bengaluru, India led by husband and wife entrepreneurs Dhimant Parekh and wife Anuradha Parekh.[2][12]

About 30 percent of its audience comes from outside of India with a majority of those being from the United States, United Kingdom and Singapore. Sponsored stories makes up eighty percent of their revenue.[2] As of March 2019, it's Alexa India rank is 1446.[13]

Controversies

In 2018, BBC released a research paper titled "Duty, Identity, Credibility: ‘Fake News’ and the ordinary citizen in India". In this, The Better India was accused of sharing fake news.[14] After The Better India got in touch with BBC, BBC research’s lead author, Sanatanu Chakrabarti, acknowledged the mistake in a private email:

"We have looked into your concern and found that we made a human error when scanning a wide range of media for our report on fake news. The Better India should not have been included and we would like to apologise to you for this mistake. We have now amended the report..."[15]

The Better India criticized BBC for not apologizing publicly and 'maligning years of [their] hard work".[16][15]

Recognition
  • Manthan Award for "Best Alternative News Site" across South Asia.[4]
  • 2016: Marico Innovation Foundation (MIF) Award for Social Innovation for "showcasing positive news and social development news, showcases unsung heroes, change-makers and grass-root innovations catalyzing significant on-ground impact."[17][18]

References
  1. "Company Overview of The Better India Pvt Ltd". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
  2. "The Better India will show you all the positive news, on all the channels you might want it". Nieman Lab. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  3. "Feel good news that spreads positivity". Deccan Herald. 2015-08-17. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  4. Menezes, Beryl (2015-03-16). "News start-up The Better India gets Rs1 crore funding". Livemint. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  5. "Better India raises Rs 1 cr funding". Zee News. 2015-03-16. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  6. "The Better India raises Rs 1 cr funding - The Financial Express". www.financialexpress.com. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  7. "The Better India raises debt funding from Lok Foundation - ETtech". ETtech.com. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  8. "IPSMF | The Independent and Public-Spirited (IPS) Media Foundation". ipsmf.org. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  9. "Support The Better India". The Better India. 26 November 2018.
  10. Srinivasan, Supraja (2018). "Impact focused news platform The Better India raises capital from Lok Foundation". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  11. "TheBetterIndia". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  12. "The Better India". HuffPost India. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  13. "Thebetterindia.com Traffic, Demographics and Competitors - Alexa". www.alexa.com. Retrieved 2019-03-08.
  14. Newslaundry. "Why the BBC owes a real apology to The Better India". Newslaundry. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  15. "The Better India on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  16. Newslaundry. "BBC's report on fake news removed from its website, will be 're-published soon'". Newslaundry. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  17. "The 6th edition of Innovation for India Awards 2016 recognizes 6 unique innovations in the business and social sector". www.freepressjournal.in. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  18. "MIF AWARDS - Marico Foundation". Marico Foundation. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
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