NewsDrum

About NewsDrum

NewsDrum is a digital news portal published from New Delhi by the BMI Group of Publications. Launched in April 2022 by journalist-entrepreneur Niraj Sharma, it is a mobile-first, general news platform covering politics, entertainment, economy, sports, business and startups in English and Hindi. The portal positions itself as an independent voice committed to unbiased reporting, and its guiding principles explicitly reject polarisation, slander and targeted attacks. Within a short period of its launch, NewsDrum built a reputation for impact journalism: its reporting has prompted government advisories and policy responses, and industry coverage has credited its blend of AI-assisted publishing tools and investigative reporting with earning it a place among India's prominent digital-only news platforms. The portal remains active as of October 2026.

Founding and launch

NewsDrum was launched in April 2022 by Niraj Sharma, a former television journalist turned media entrepreneur. It is the general news addition to the portfolio of the BMI Group of Publications, which Sharma built beginning with BestMediaInfo.com in 2010 and later expanded with BuzzInContent.com, a business-to-business platform for content marketing and the creator economy launched in 2018. The launch of NewsDrum marked the group's entry into general news, conceived as a mobile-first platform keeping objectivity at its core.

The timing of the launch reflected Sharma's assessment that several platforms were struggling to keep pace with real-time developments in the advertising and political arenas. Rather than differentiating through long-form features, NewsDrum set out to combine rapid investigative reporting with technological innovation, particularly in headline generation and content distribution. The platform's about page commits it to a cleaner news environment, with guiding principles that refrain the website from polarisation, slander or targeting.

Niraj Sharma, the founder

Niraj Sharma is the founder and editor-in-chief of NewsDrum, as well as of BestMediaInfo.com and BuzzInContent.com. Described as a seasoned entrepreneur who formerly worked with some of India's leading media networks, he launched his first venture, BestMediaInfo, in 2010 and has since built two more businesses. As a former television journalist, he has written persistently against deteriorating content quality on television news, and he describes his editorial philosophy as the journalism of impact: in his words, journalists are known for breaking stories.

Sharma's background in the media and advertising industry informs NewsDrum's distinctive focus on media accountability. BestMediaInfo.com, his first venture, established a track record of stories that brought policy-level changes: in 2020, during the intense television coverage of the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, the site launched an editorial initiative in which advertisers went on record saying they would not advertise on channels with toxic content. That campaigning approach to media criticism carried over into NewsDrum's editorial identity.

The BMI Group of Publications

NewsDrum is owned by the BMI Group of Publications, the media group Sharma founded. The group's first property, BestMediaInfo.com, launched in 2010 as a news platform for the advertising, media and marketing industry, and established itself with reporting that drove regulatory and policy changes. In 2018 the group expanded with BuzzInContent.com, described as India's first business-to-business news platform for content marketing, branded content and the creator economy. NewsDrum, launched in 2022, extended the group's footprint from industry journalism into general news.

The group's stated values emphasise editorial integrity, innovative platforms and community impact. Its about page describes a belief in responsible journalism and a passion for the growth of the Indian media and entertainment sector. The group's newsroom experience, built over more than a decade of industry reporting, provided NewsDrum with an experienced team of journalists from its inception, which the group credits for the new platform's early string of exclusives.

Editorial approach and guiding principles

NewsDrum describes itself as a premium independent online news platform specialising in in-depth news stories with neutral perspectives on news, business, sports, entertainment and lifestyle. Its guiding principles are presented as the basics of journalism: to remain wholly unbiased, whether religiously, politically, pecuniarily or otherwise. As the platform's only agenda is to inform and educate, in its own description, it stays away from mudslinging and targeted slandering. The platform provides curated content to its audience with a special focus on original reporting.

The editorial focus, in Sharma's formulation, rests on two pillars: breaking news and fair analysis. The portal aims to serve as a hub of important newsbreaks that matter to the common citizen, and its newsroom measures itself by the stories it breaks and the precision of its analysis. Consulting editors associated with the platform have included Aurangzeb Naqshbandi and Shekhar Iyer, experienced journalists who have spoken publicly about the platform's emphasis on presenting views from all sides.

Impact journalism: early exclusives

NewsDrum made its first significant impact within a month of its launch. In April 2022, the portal published an exposé showing how several war-coverage segments on leading television channels were using exaggerated visuals and unverified claims about nuclear weapons in their reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Within three days of that report, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued an advisory urging all broadcasters to refrain from hyperbole and sensationalism when reporting on armed conflict situations. The advisory was the first time a government body cited NewsDrum's findings to curb potentially misleading war reporting, and the group presents it as validation of its journalism-of-impact philosophy.

The portal has continued to break stories with national resonance. When the central government called a special session of Parliament in 2023, NewsDrum reported that the session was convened for the Women's Reservation Bill, a full two days before the Times of India carried the news. The portal was also among the first to report that senior opposition leaders might skip the consecration ceremony of the Ayodhya Ram Temple, a story that became a major national talking point. According to the group's accounts, NewsDrum's journalists broke more than three dozen stories in the platform's first two years, a notable record in a crowded media space.

AI-enhanced reporting

Technology is central to NewsDrum's editorial strategy. On its second anniversary in 2024, the platform announced an expansion of its operations on the back of artificial intelligence-led tools and innovations, including content repurposing, AI-generated web stories and AI-assisted content distribution. In August 2024, the site launched an in-house Headline AI tool capable of producing six unique, search-optimised headlines in under ten seconds, accelerating publication timelines and allowing editors to test headlines for click-through rates.

Industry coverage has credited this technological approach with helping the young platform stand out. A Storyboard18 analysis noted that the blend of AI-driven headline generation and rapid investigative reporting resonated with younger, mobile-centric audiences and helped NewsDrum earn a place among India's leading digital-only news platforms. The group's stated aim is to deploy AI-led tools to take the user experience to the next level while keeping the product distinct in a cluttered market.

WikiWatch and media accountability

In late 2024, NewsDrum launched WikiWatch, a special editorial initiative dedicated to monitoring edits on high-profile Wikipedia pages. The project's first major investigation revealed that several Indian news-channel entries on Wikipedia had language stripped that would have flagged potential bias. The report drew widespread attention from outlets including ABP Live and led to a Delhi High Court notice to Wikipedia, marking another instance of the portal's reporting driving institutional responses.

WikiWatch exemplifies NewsDrum's focus on digital-media transparency, a beat that connects the portal's technology orientation with its accountability journalism. By systematically monitoring how influential online references are edited, the initiative extends the traditional media-criticism function into the platform era, examining the information infrastructure on which public understanding of the media itself depends.

Coverage areas

NewsDrum covers politics, entertainment, economy, sports, business and startups. Its political reporting focuses on national developments, parliamentary affairs and electoral politics, with an emphasis on exclusive newsbreaks and sharp analysis. Business coverage tracks the advertising, media and startup sectors, drawing on the BMI Group's deep industry expertise. Entertainment and sports coverage follows the standard digital news mix, while the economy coverage examines policy developments and their implications.

The portal's media-industry coverage is a distinctive strength, reflecting the group's origins in BestMediaInfo.com. Stories on broadcasting regulation, advertising and content controversies draw on the newsroom's long-standing sources in the industry. This specialisation gives NewsDrum an edge in covering the business of news itself, a beat where its journalism-of-impact approach has produced some of its most consequential stories.

Audience and reach

NewsDrum is a mobile-first platform, designed for readers who consume news primarily on smartphones. According to figures reported in mid-2024, the platform attracted over five million monthly page views with engagement levels described as above industry standards. Search analytics cited in industry coverage indicated that a majority of its visitors arrived with informational intent, consistent with the portal's positioning as a source of news and analysis rather than opinion or entertainment alone.

The portal publishes in English and Hindi, broadening its potential audience across India's linguistic divide. Its growth strategy centres on technology-led improvements to the user experience, with the group stating its aim of making the product stand out in the crowded digital news market through AI-assisted features and original reporting.

Place in India's digital media landscape

NewsDrum represents a particular model of digital-native journalism in India: a general news platform built by an industry-media group, combining the speed and technological experimentation of a startup with the source networks of an established trade press. Its early record of impact stories, from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry advisory to the WikiWatch investigation, demonstrates how a young outlet can influence the news agenda through focused accountability reporting.

As of October 2026, the portal continues to publish from New Delhi under Sharma's editorship, pursuing its stated goal of becoming a hub for the newsbreaks that matter to ordinary readers. Its trajectory illustrates how India's digital news ecosystem rewards outlets that can combine technological innovation with traditional reporting strengths, and its emphasis on unbiased, impact-driven journalism positions it as a distinctive voice in the country's crowded online news market.