In a first, Australia,'s popular and feisty panel discussion program, Q and A India, will be filmed live at the Kingdom of Dreams entertainment centre in Gurgaon, Haryana.
It will be hosted by one of Australia's most respected journalists, Tony Jones, in front of a large studio audience made up of both Australian and Indian citizens.
Audience members will ask their questions live on television across India and Australia, with a star-studded panel, which includes the Minister for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor, political commentator Swapan Dasgupta, award winning TV journalist and Host of Devil's Advocate Karan Thapar, the Managing Editor of Tehelka, Shoma Chaudhury and Australian-born Bollywood star Pallavi Sharda.
They'll be talking about Australia's relationship with India, India's economic development... and maybe even the cricket.
Q and A India will air live on ABC1 and ABC News 24 - as well as on India's national public broadcaster, Doordarshan - on Monday 18th November at 9.35 p.m. AEDT. Q and A is also simulcast in Australia on ABC News Radio, and Australia Network broadcasts Q and A live into Southeast Asia and the Pacific at 9.35 p.m. AEDT every Monday night.
This Q and A special has arisen out of a new partnership between ABC International and DD Direct, a direct-to-home satellite television service operated by India's public broadcaster, Prasar Bharati.
From mid-November, Australia Network will be available to approximately 25 million additional viewers across India. Next week, ABC International will also be launching a new website for India,
AustraliaPlus.com/India - the new digital home of the best of Australian content covering arts and culture, business, education, health, lifestyle, news and current affairs, science, sports, technology and travel.
The website will be offering content in both English and Hindi, as well as an Indian news feed from Doordashan.
Executive Producer Peter McEvoy said: "We're thrilled to be taking Q and A to India and to have the opportunity to bring Australian viewers an insight into India's vibrant political culture."
Members of the public in India can get involved in Q and A in a variety of ways:
Register to be part of the Q and A live studio audience in Gurgaon at abc.net.au/qanda Audience members will need to be available from 3pm - 5pm;
Submit web / video questions for the panel, also at abc.net.au/qanda (please note, video questions for Q and A India need to be submitted by Wednesday 13 November)
Contribute to the discussion via Q and A's Twitter highlights feed, using #qanda;
Follow @qanda on Twitter to receive first-hand updates about the program and panel members.
