The Southern Asia Division (SUD) is comprised of four countries: Bhutan, India, and the Maldives. It has more than 4,500 churches in a population of about 1.4 billion.
Hope TV India started in 2008 in the southeastern city of Chennai. This is the first Adventist television channel in the country and is broadcast 24/7. Hope Channel programs are available in Bengali, English, Garo, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Karen, S’gaw, Khasi, Malayalam, Marathi, Meitei, Mizo, Oriya, Tamil and Telugu.
India has the largest membership of this division. The Adventist Church in this country operates nine educational entities and 12 health institutions.
Many supporting ministries of the Adventist Church also operate institutions. Asian Aid School for the Blind in Bobbili, Andhra Pradesh, enrolls about 100 students, many of whom are orphans.