The BBC World Service plans to launch services in 11 new languages. Four of them will be in Indian languages – Marathi, Telugu, Gujarati and Punjabi. The services will be operational by mid-2017. <br/><br/>According to the British broadcaster, the new language services will be digitally-led mobile first offerings with significant TV and video output. <br/><br/>The new services are also expected to open 157 new jobs in India. Indu Shekhar Sinha, Head of Business Development (Asia Pacific), BBC World Service, said this at a media interaction in Mumbai earlier this week. <br/><br/>Sinha said it is certainly one of BBC's biggest expansions till date and is part of their centenary project 2022. The expansion is result of a funding boost announced by the UK Government last year.<br/><br/>The new language services mean the BBC World Service will be available in 40 languages, including English, up from the current 29 languages. The BBC currently offers its content in Hindi, Bengali and Tamil with an audience of 23 million.