It turned out to be a starry Wednesday evening as the who’s who of India converged in strength to join the celebration at TV9 Network, India’s Number 1 news network, in New Delhi.

The guests raised a toast to the unprecedented success of the news television leader in India. Reiterating their trust in TV9 Network, they celebrated the idea of credible and constructive journalism hosted by the leading news network, TV9 said in a media statement.

India’s top politicians cutting across party lines joined the celebrations. Prominent among these included Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister; Piyush Goyal, Textiles, Commerce and Industry Minister; Dharmendra Pradhan, Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Minister; Anurag Thakur, Sports, Youth and Information & Broadcasting Minister; Prahlad Joshi, Parliamentary Affairs Minister; Mahendra Nath Pandey, Heavy Industries Minister; Anupriya Patel, junior Minister for Commerce & Industry; S P Singh Baghel, Law & Justice Minister (MoS); Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister, Delhi; Brajesh Pathak, Deputy Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh and Ashish Patel, Technical Education Minister, UP.

Among the MPs who attended the event included Tejasvi Surya, President, Bharti Yuva Jana Morcha; Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, TMC and Dr Sukanta Majumdar, President, West Bengal, BJP.

Corporate leaders who attended included Piruz Khambatta, Chairman, Rasna; Dr Satinder Pal Singh Bakshi, CMD, Bakson Drugs and Pharmaceuticals; Kiran Kumar, MD, Lalithaa Jewellery; Suman Saraf, MD, Radha TMT and Naveen Giria, Director, Girias Investment Private Limited. Prasoon Joshi, noted lyricist and Chairman, Central Board of Film Certification too joined the celebrations.

TV9 Bharatvarsh, which has just scripted history to become the most watched Hindi news channel in India, celebrated its third anniversary on Wednesday. The overwhelming sentiment at the celebration was that leaders are not born but are made. Success is the child of audacity as has been demonstrated by TV9 Bharatvarsh, which has disrupted the old order dominated by legacy channels, the TV9 Network statement added.

Speaking on the occasion, Barun Das, CEO, TV9 Network, said, “We are extremely pleased to receive a resounding thumbs up for our sterling performance. For us, any celebration is incomplete without the participation of all those who have seen us through our journey to the top. We salute the verdict of viewers with a promise that we shall always endeavor to serve them without fear or favor.”

Fittingly, the network premiered its prime offering – News9 Plus – India’s first video magazine OTT service at the event. Promoted by TV9 Network, News9 Plus is a unique service that will operate at the intersection of impeccable journalism, world-class presentation, and next-in-class technology. News9 Plus platform is destined to be the go-to app for nuanced news-based content produced with the best in class audio-visual storytelling formats.

Das added, “The best is yet to come. We have a commitment to bringing about a qualitative change in the news genre landscape. News9 Plus is one such out of box idea that promises to radically change the art of story-telling in news media.”

Talking about the number one status achieved by TV9 Bharatvarsh, Hemant Sharma, News Director, TV9 Bharatvarsh, said, “Leadership and learning are indispensable. We owe our success to our viewers. We have a responsibility to ensure we continue to earn their trust.”

B V Rao, Group Editor, TV9 Network, said, “News9 Plus is an audacious attempt to take the news to the OTT space. A generation brought up on watching the best of content on Netflix etc won’t settle for anything other than the best-produced news content. News9 Plus will cater to this Genflix – or the generation that lives on Netflix.”

Sant Prasad Rai, Editor, TV9 Bharatvarsh, said, “It is a dream come true for me. My team has given their 100% to end the legacy of 22 years and become the No.1 Hindi News Channel.”

Making the evening celebration special, sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan had the invited audience spellbound with his lovely renditions. The popular fusion rock band – Indian Ocean – led the celebrations into the night singing their all-time favorite numbers.

TV9 Network promotes news brands that include TV9 Kannada, TV9 Telugu, TV9 Marathi, TV9 Gujarati and TV9 Bharatvarsh. Its digital assets include TV9 Hindi, News9live and Money9.