Star Ananda, India's first 24-hour Bengali television news channel, will go on the air Wednesday.

Star Ananda has been floated by Media Content and Communications Services India Pvt. Ltd. (MCCS), a joint venture between ABP TV and the STAR group that operates STAR News, a leading TV news channel.

STAR Ananda will broadcast local, national and international news.

Headquartered in Kolkata, with modern production facilities housed in a state-of-the-art fully automated newsroom, STAR Ananda will have an extensive network of reporters across West Bengal and India.

Uday Shankar, CEO of MCCS, and Suman Chattopadhyay, executive producer of STAR Ananda, will oversee the channel's operations.

"STAR Ananda is the expression of the Bengali on the move. It reflects their urges and aspirations and their impatience with the rate of change," Shankar said here Tuesday.

"There is a need for a dedicated channel that can offer high quality news coverage along with views and analysis in the language of the viewers."