News Analysis India

Tag: Doordarshan

  • EC to allot poll-time ad slots to political parties on AIR & DD online

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  Allotment of telecast time to political parties in order to conduct election campaigns on All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan (DD) during elections will now be done online. This follows the Election Commission of India (ECI) amending its existing scheme on the use of government-owned electronic media by political parties.

    With this facilitation, the political parties will not be required to send their representatives to ECI or chief electoral officer offices for collection of the time vouchers physically during the election. It reflects the commission’s commitment to leveraging technology for the betterment of the electoral process and ease of all stakeholders, said a statement issued by the Election Commission.

    “Recognising the advancements in technology, the commission has been providing IT-based options for interface with political parties. Recently, the commission also introduced a web portal for online filing of financial accounts by political parties with the ECI,” the commission added.

    The scheme for political parties to carry out campaigns on state-owned television and radio channel was introduced under direction of the ECI during the 1998 general election. Subsequently, it was extended to all elections to state assemblies.

    It was formulated after extensive consultations with recognised national and state parties and is aimed at ensuring equitable access to government-owned electronic media during polls for campaigning.

    Extra timeUnder the Election Commission’s scheme, an equitable base time is allotted to each national and recognised state party uniformly on DD and AIR. The additional time allotted to the parties is decided on the basis of the poll performance of the parties in the previous elections.

    NEW DELHI:  Allotment of telecast time to political parties in order to conduct election campaigns on All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan (DD) during elections will now be done online. This follows the Election Commission of India (ECI) amending its existing scheme on the use of government-owned electronic media by political parties.

    With this facilitation, the political parties will not be required to send their representatives to ECI or chief electoral officer offices for collection of the time vouchers physically during the election. It reflects the commission’s commitment to leveraging technology for the betterment of the electoral process and ease of all stakeholders, said a statement issued by the Election Commission.

    “Recognising the advancements in technology, the commission has been providing IT-based options for interface with political parties. Recently, the commission also introduced a web portal for online filing of financial accounts by political parties with the ECI,” the commission added.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    The scheme for political parties to carry out campaigns on state-owned television and radio channel was introduced under direction of the ECI during the 1998 general election. Subsequently, it was extended to all elections to state assemblies.

    It was formulated after extensive consultations with recognised national and state parties and is aimed at ensuring equitable access to government-owned electronic media during polls for campaigning.

    Extra time
    Under the Election Commission’s scheme, an equitable base time is allotted to each national and recognised state party uniformly on DD and AIR. The additional time allotted to the parties is decided on the basis of the poll performance of the parties in the previous elections.

  • Cabinet approves over Rs 2,500 cr scheme for upgrading infra of DD, AIR

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: In a bid to upgrade Prasar Bharati’s broadcast infrastructure and network, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday approved a scheme worth more than Rs 2,500 crore for Doordarshan and All India Radio.

    Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur announced the Central Sector ‘Broadcasting Infrastructure and Network Development (BIND)’ scheme with an outlay of Rs 2,539.61 crore up to 2025-26, which was approved by the CCEA.

    “The BIND scheme is the vehicle for providing financial support to Prasar Bharati for expenses related to expansion and upgradation of its broadcasting infrastructure, content development and civil work related to the organization,” the I&B Ministry said in a statement.

    “Prasar Bharati, as the public broadcaster of the country, is the most important vehicle of information, education, entertainment and engagement for the people, especially in the remote areas of the country through Doordarshan and All India Radio (AIR).”

    “Prasar Bharati played a stellar role in communicating health messages and awareness to the public during the Covid pandemic,” the statement said.

    The BIND scheme will enable the public broadcaster to undertake a major upgradation of its facilities with better infrastructure which will widen its reach, including in the LWE (Left Wing Extremism), border and strategic areas and provide high-quality content to the viewers.

    Another priority area of the scheme is the development of high-quality content for both domestic and international audiences and ensuring the availability of diverse content to the viewers by upgradation of the capacity of the DTH platform to accommodate more channels, the ministry said.

    The purchase of OB vans and digital upgradation of DD and AIR studios to make them HD-ready will also be done as part of the project.

    Thakur said that the scheme envisions how Doordarshan should be 20 years from now.

    “Prasar Bharti is the public broadcaster…it is not just about profit making. The aim is to ensure information regarding the government’s work and schemes reaches people. Different reports have pointed at the quality of content, whether it is Doordarshan or AIR,” said Thakur, adding both DD and AIR are also available on mobile phones.

    “We are planning how DD should look 20 years from now,” he said.

    According to the I&B Ministry, at present, Doordarshan operates 36 TV channels, including 28 regional channels, and AIR operates more than 500 broadcasting centres.

    The BIND scheme will increase coverage of AIR FM transmitters in the country to 66 per cent by geographical area, up from the current 59 per cent, and 80 per cent by population, up from the present 68 per cent coverage.

    Under the scheme, eight lakh DD Free Dish DTH set-top boxes (STBs) will also be distributed to people living in remote, tribal, LWE, border areas and ‘aspirational’ districts.

    In addition to enhancing the scope of public broadcasting, the project for modernization and augmentation of broadcast infrastructure also has the potential to generate indirect employment by way of manufacturing and services related to the supply and installation of broadcast equipment.

    According to the statement, content generation and innovation for AIR and DD has the potential of indirect employment of persons with varied experience in different media fields in the content production sector, including TV/Radio production, transmission and associated media-related services.

    The project for expansion of the reach of DD Free Dish is also expected to generate employment opportunities in the manufacturing of STBs.

    “The government reiterates its commitment to the development, modernization and strengthening of Doordarshan and Akashvani (Prasar Bharati) infrastructure and services, which is a continuous process,” the ministry added.

    NEW DELHI: In a bid to upgrade Prasar Bharati’s broadcast infrastructure and network, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday approved a scheme worth more than Rs 2,500 crore for Doordarshan and All India Radio.

    Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur announced the Central Sector ‘Broadcasting Infrastructure and Network Development (BIND)’ scheme with an outlay of Rs 2,539.61 crore up to 2025-26, which was approved by the CCEA.

    “The BIND scheme is the vehicle for providing financial support to Prasar Bharati for expenses related to expansion and upgradation of its broadcasting infrastructure, content development and civil work related to the organization,” the I&B Ministry said in a statement.

    “Prasar Bharati, as the public broadcaster of the country, is the most important vehicle of information, education, entertainment and engagement for the people, especially in the remote areas of the country through Doordarshan and All India Radio (AIR).”

    “Prasar Bharati played a stellar role in communicating health messages and awareness to the public during the Covid pandemic,” the statement said.

    The BIND scheme will enable the public broadcaster to undertake a major upgradation of its facilities with better infrastructure which will widen its reach, including in the LWE (Left Wing Extremism), border and strategic areas and provide high-quality content to the viewers.

    Another priority area of the scheme is the development of high-quality content for both domestic and international audiences and ensuring the availability of diverse content to the viewers by upgradation of the capacity of the DTH platform to accommodate more channels, the ministry said.

    The purchase of OB vans and digital upgradation of DD and AIR studios to make them HD-ready will also be done as part of the project.

    Thakur said that the scheme envisions how Doordarshan should be 20 years from now.

    “Prasar Bharti is the public broadcaster…it is not just about profit making. The aim is to ensure information regarding the government’s work and schemes reaches people. Different reports have pointed at the quality of content, whether it is Doordarshan or AIR,” said Thakur, adding both DD and AIR are also available on mobile phones.

    “We are planning how DD should look 20 years from now,” he said.

    According to the I&B Ministry, at present, Doordarshan operates 36 TV channels, including 28 regional channels, and AIR operates more than 500 broadcasting centres.

    The BIND scheme will increase coverage of AIR FM transmitters in the country to 66 per cent by geographical area, up from the current 59 per cent, and 80 per cent by population, up from the present 68 per cent coverage.

    Under the scheme, eight lakh DD Free Dish DTH set-top boxes (STBs) will also be distributed to people living in remote, tribal, LWE, border areas and ‘aspirational’ districts.

    In addition to enhancing the scope of public broadcasting, the project for modernization and augmentation of broadcast infrastructure also has the potential to generate indirect employment by way of manufacturing and services related to the supply and installation of broadcast equipment.

    According to the statement, content generation and innovation for AIR and DD has the potential of indirect employment of persons with varied experience in different media fields in the content production sector, including TV/Radio production, transmission and associated media-related services.

    The project for expansion of the reach of DD Free Dish is also expected to generate employment opportunities in the manufacturing of STBs.

    “The government reiterates its commitment to the development, modernization and strengthening of Doordarshan and Akashvani (Prasar Bharati) infrastructure and services, which is a continuous process,” the ministry added.

  • DD India joins hands with Yupp TV to expand its global reach

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: DD India will now be available to its viewers through an over-the-top (OTT) platform in several countries, including the US, UK and Australia, to put forth India’s perspective on various international developments on global platforms and showcase its culture and values to the world, the government said on Monday.

    In a statement, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said Prasar Bharati has signed a memorandum of understanding with Yupp TV, an OTT platform.

    The move is part of the public broadcaster’s “vision” to expand the global reach of Doordarshan’s DD India channel, it said.

    “In pursuance of its vision to expand the global reach of DD India channel, to put forth India’s perspective on various international developments on global platforms and to showcase India’s culture and values to the world, India’s public broadcaster Prasar Bharati has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with ‘Yupp TV’, an over-the-top platform, which is a gateway for television viewers across the globe,” the statement said.

    “With this, DD India is now available on the OTT platform of Yupp TV in the USA, UK, Europe, Middle East, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand,” it added.

    Through Yupp TV, one can watch live TV “anytime, anywhere” in the world, the ministry said.

    Yupp TV has made Indian TV channels “easily and cost effectively” available across the globe, it said.

    The content hosting agreement was signed by Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati and Yupp TV founder and CEO Uday Reddy, it added.

    “DD India, Prasar Bharati’s international channel, is India’s window to the world.

    The channel, through its various programmes, offers international viewers India’s perspective on all domestic and global developments,” the ministry said.

    Available in more than 190 countries, DD India also acts as a “bridge between India and the Indian diaspora” spread across the world, it added.

  • Trust in news has grown amid pandemic, but it is below average in India: Report

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Trust in news has grown amid the coronavirus pandemic with 44 per cent of the respondents globally saying they trust most news most of the time, but the figure is below average at 38 per cent in India, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

    Finland has topped the charts with overall trust of 65 per cent, while the US is placed at the bottom with 29 per cent score.

    India is ranked in the bottom half in the 46-nation survey conducted by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, University of Oxford.

    In India, legacy print brands and government broadcasters Doordarshan and All India Radio are more trusted, while print brands, in general, are more trusted than TV brands, which are seen as far more polarised and sensational.

    In another interesting finding, the study found that personalities — celebrities and influencers — attract the most attention amongst social media news users across the four big platforms in India — Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.

    Internet personalities were followed by mainstream news outlets/journalists, politicians/political activists, smaller or alternative news sources, and ordinary people among the top five groups to whom Indian social media users pay attention to for news.

    The study, however, flagged that its data is based on a survey of mainly English-speaking online news users in India, a small subset of a larger, more diverse, media market in the country.

    Within Asia-Pacific, India has been ranked 8th, while Thailand is at the top with 50 per cent respondents saying they trust news.

    The study conducted by the Reuters Institute also showed that global concerns about false and misleading information edged higher this year, ranging from 82 per cent in Brazil to 37 per cent in Germany.

    It also found that social media users are more likely to say they have been exposed to misinformation about the coronavirus than non-users, with platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp being seen as the main channels for spreading false information.

    Among the Indian respondents, most expressed concern about COVID-19 misinformation through WhatsApp (28 per cent), followed by Facebook (16 per cent), YouTube (14 per cent), search engines such as Google (7 per cent) and Twitter (4 per cent).

    Trust in the news has grown, on average, by six percentage points in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic with 44 per cent of the respondents globally saying they trust most news most of the time.

    It reverses to some extent recent falls in average trust, bringing levels back to those of 2018, according to the survey report.

    India also figured among a few countries where a majority of respondents (over 50 per cent) were concerned about financial state of news organisations, while this proportion was only 32 per cent in the US, 26 per cent in the UK, 23 per cent in Germany and 41 per cent in Singapore.

    The survey further found that personalities such as celebrities and influencers attract the most attention amongst social media news users across all four big networks of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

    Facebook users among the respondents said they pay as much attention to ordinary people as they do to journalists or news organisations when accessing news, while those using Twitter said they pay almost as much attention to politicians as they do to journalists or news organisations.

    Within India, legacy print news brands and newspapers, in general, have borne the maximum brunt of the slowdown, while television remains the most popular source overall despite the growing popularity of digital media, the survey found.

    Among India respondents, legacy print brands and government broadcasters Doordarshan and All India Radio retain a high level of trust among consumers.

    Print brands, in general, are more trusted than TV brands, which are seen as far more polarised and sensational in their coverage, it said.

    The survey found that India is one of the strongest mobile focused markets, with 73 per cent accessing news through smartphones and just 37 per cent via computer.

    India has more than 600 million active internet users, many of whom access the internet only through mobile phones — aided by low data charges and cheap devices — it said.

    The study, however, flagged that the findings should not be taken to be nationally representative, as the respondents are generally more affluent, younger, have higher levels of formal education and are more likely to live in cities than the wider Indian population.

    For each of the 46 countries including India, the sample size for the survey was in the range of 2,000 to 2,099.

  • Big slump in All India Radio and Doordarshan revenues

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: The quantum of commercial revenue, including from advertisements, earned by All India Radio and Doordarshan is on a steady decline. Figures point to a drastic fall, of over 75 per cent in three years. Responding to a question in the Parliament, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar said the amount of commercial revenue earned by Doordarshan was `157.53 crore in 2020- 2021. For AIR, it was `108.74 crore.

    This is a significant dip, compared to the revenues earned in the last few years. During the year 2017-18, AIR earned `465.41 crore and Doordarshan `607.8 crore. In 2018-2019, AIR earned `460.95 crore and Doordarshan `553.55 crore. In 2019-20, it was `305.23 crore for AIR and `348.83 crore for Doordarshan. Asked if the government in the beginning of the period mentioned used to earn from ads of gutka and cigarettes, the ministry said there was no earning as they were not carried on AIR and Doordarshan as per policy.

    Advertisements on TV channels are regulated in accordance with the Advertising Code prescribed under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act of 1995 and rules framed under it. As per rules, no advertisement promoting directly or indirectly the production, sale or consumption of cigarettes, tobacco products, wine, alcohol, liquor or other intoxicants are not allowed. However, a product that uses a brand name or logo, which is also used for cigarettes, tobacco products, wine, alcohol, liquor or other intoxicants may be advertised on cable service.

  • Re-open school instead of educating children through other mode’

    A virtual meeting of Chhattisgarh Pradesh Shikshak Federation (CPSF) was held on Tuesday to discuss issues related to service benefits of teachers and present education system. State office-bearers of the federation participated in the meeting to discuss these issues. They were of the view that State Government should reopen the school for the sake of students’ education instead of educating children through other mode. Federation State President Rajesh Chatterjee, Vice President Chandrashekhar Chandrakar and General Secretary Rakesh Sahu said that the Federation officials involved in the meeting opined that students so far had not received fruitful results from the present education system adopted by the Education Department due to Corona pandemic. The Federation had suggested conduct classes through Doordarshan for the benefit of students belonging to underprivileged category who cannot afford mobile phones. Only a limited number of students are benefited from online classes, said federation members. It is safer to take class in schools than in streets, they said. The Federation had proposed to open Government English medium schools. Schools were opened by making infrastructure available in the old Hindi medium schools, but the Education Department, taking an unexpected decision finished approved posts in that school including Principal, Lecturer, Upper Class Teacher, PT, Principal, Readers. The schools have been privatised in a way by giving them to a registered committee, they said. They said that High Court of Chhattisgarh in its decision of December 9 2019 has ordered a stay on the amendment made in Rule 5 of the Chhattisgarh Recruitment Promotion Rules 2003. All the departments are issuing promotion orders as per the order of the High Court, but the Education Department is not issuing the promotion order by misinterpreting the order of the High Court, citing the reason for excess number. While the Advocate General’s office Bilaspur gave a clear opinion on the order of the High Court on February 19, 2020. The Federation will agitate for the third phase of Nyay Paati Abhiyan. In this phase a memorandum containing information about suicidal decisions of the Education Department will be given under the contact programme with the public representatives, which will be started from the Chief Minister.

  • Government is better to open schools in student interest than applying Mohalla class

    In the virtual meeting of the Provincial Management Council of Chhattisgarh Pradesh Teachers Federation, there was a detailed discussion on the benefits and education system of teachers. Federation’s President Rajesh Chatterjee, Deputy Prime Minister Chandrashekhar Chandrakar and General Secretary Rakesh Sahu said that the officials of the Federation involved in the meeting are of the opinion that students did not get effective benefit from the education system policy in the schools of the Education Department during the Corona period. In view of the economic condition of the students in government schools, the Federation had suggested to conduct classes through Doordarshan. Due to the unavailability of data packs and Android mobiles, only a limited number of students from online classes have been able to take advantage of subject-wise studies. It is safer to take class in Shala Bhavan than to hold class in street-street. The government should decide to open the school to bring the subject wise education system of secondary and higher secondary students on track. Through the assignment, students’ knowledge of board classes will not be evaluated. There is a need to determine the scale of learning skills and ability of promising students. How will the exam be when the studies are not done properly? The Federation had proposed to open a government English medium school. Schools were also opened by making infrastructure available in the old Hindi medium schools, but the Education Department, taking an unexpected decision, in the approved posts in the departmental setup, approved posts in that school including Principal, Lecturer, Upper Class Teacher, Exercise Teacher, Principal readers Has finished. Even the Withdrawal Disbursement Code and RMSA Head have been abolished. Teachers studying in English medium are posted on deputation in these schools and former teachers are being sent elsewhere. The schools have been privatized in a way by giving them to a registered committee. He informed that after the first 40 schools, there are preparations to open English-medium schools in 146 development blocks of the state. As per policy, Principal 186 posts of schools, minimum 1116 of lecturer, 1116 posts of upper class teacher, 186 + 186 = 372 posts of Principal Middle and Primary, accepted posts of Accountant / Assistant Grade 2 and Grade 3 are being abolished. The federation says that with the abolition of the sanctioned posts, where promotion posts are ending in all cadres, the posts will not be available in the event of withdrawal from the deputation.
    He said that High Court Bilaspur in its decision of 9 December 2019 has ordered a stay on the amendment made in Rule 5 of the Chhattisgarh Recruitment Promotion Rules 2003. There is no restriction for regular promotion, without affecting the reservation roster. He said that the High Court double bench had also clarified its order passed on 8 January 2020. All the departments are issuing promotion orders as per the order of the High Court. But the Education Department is not issuing the promotion order by misinterpreting the order of the High Court, citing the reason for excess number. While the Advocate General’s office Bilaspur gave a clear opinion on the order of the High Court on 19 February 2020.
    According to the decision of the Provincial Executive, Chhattisgarh Pradesh Teachers Federation will agitate for the third phase of Niyayi Paati Campaign. In this phase, a memorandum containing information about suicidal decisions of the Education Department will be given under the contact with public representatives, which will be started from the Chief Minister. Along with this, we will also have a justice movement on the issue of giving 100 percent promotion to the teacher cadre and the third time scale / incremental pay scale to the teachers who have been recruited as assistant teachers. The authority has been given the authority to decide the outline of the movement.