Fremantle Media today named Saurindra Kumar Barua as managing director for India and said he will launch a production services operation here to serve the Indian television market. London-headquartered Fremantle is part of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann AG and is among the world’s leading producers of television entertainment.

Fremantle-owned formats such as Indian Idol have been on air in India for years, and the company has been speaking about setting up operations here at least since 2005. India’s Got Talent, currently on Colors, is a Fremantle-owned format.

Fremantle’s global competitor Endemol has a strong presence in India and makes shows for several local channels.

Barua will be based in Mumbai and will report to Fremantle Asia CEO Patrick Schult. Prior to joining the firm, he was VP and regional CFO for asia pacific at Discovery Asia based in Singapore.