New Delhi, January 6
Amid sporadic skirmishes with China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the challenge of infiltration from Pakistan into Jammu and Kashmir, public broadcaster Prasar Bharti on Friday said it would expand its reach in border and strategic areas with the objective to educate and entertain the residents.
The expansion of All India Radio and Doordarshan in key segments of national interest, including Naxal-affected districts, will happen as the Union Cabinet recently approved an infrastructure augmentation scheme worth Rs 2,539.61 crore for Prasar Bharti.
Shedding light on unsung heroes
Capsules on 1,000 unsung heroes of the freedom struggle are part of Prasar Bharti’s new programming mix, with 500 already ready and telecast and the rest in the pipeline. —Gaurav Dwivedi, CEO, Prasar Bharti
The Broadcast Infrastructure Network Development (BIND) Scheme meant for a period of five years until 2025-26 will seek to expand Prasar Bharti’s reach to habitations across an additional 6 lakh sq km of area.
“The target under the BIND scheme is to expand FM coverage in the country from 58.83 per cent to 66.29 per cent geographically speaking and from 68 per cent to 80.23 per cent in terms of population reach. The coverage of AIR FM is sought to be increased on the India-Nepal border from the existing 48.27 per cent to 63.02 per cent and along the J&K border from 62 per cent to 76 per cent,” Prasar Bharti CEO Gaurav Dwivedi said today.
He said free distribution of more than eight lakh DD direct-to-home receiver sets was also planned for remote, tribal, LWE and border areas under the BIND scheme to enable people to access radio and DD services.
Dwivedi added that capsules on 1,000 unsung heroes of the freedom struggle were part of Prasar Bharti’s new programming mix under the BIND scheme with 500 already ready and telecast and the rest in the pipeline.
Gaurav Dwivedi added Prasar Bharti was evaluating a proposal for Doordarshan’s OTT platform.