BBC Worldwide has launched two pay-TV channels, CBeebies and BBC Entertainment, in India.
The CBeebies channel will offer shows such as Tweenies, Tikkabilla and Big Cook Little Cook.
BBC Entertainment will air dramas including Doctor Who, Waking the Dead, Cutting It, Hotel Babylon, Spooks and comedies such as Extras.
The channels will each be available 12 hours a day to Indian viewers via the Tata-Sky satellite TV service.
BBC Entertainment will be on air between 6pm and 6am local time and a dual Hindi/English language CBeebies channel will air from 6am until 6pm.
The plan to launch channels in India was raised in September last year as part of a wider strategy by BBC Worldwide, the corporation's commercial arm, to launch up to five channels in different countries.
BBC Worldwide's existing interests in India include a joint venture magazine deal with the Times of India Group, a TV sales business and an FM radio licence partnership to create seven stations.
"The economic growth in India has been explosive, with the media and entertainment industries playing an integral part," said Darren Childs, the managing director of BBC Global Channels.
He added that recent research showed that India would lead the Asian cable market - passing Japan next year - and that the region would be the most lucrative pay-TV market by 2015.
