Centre approves Rs 2,539 cr scheme to expand national broadcasting

New Delhi: The Central government has announced a plan with an outlay of Rs 2,539 crore to expand the coverage of the national broadcasting, including All India Radio’s FM channels and Doordarshan, in rural areas targeting tribal population and Left-Wing Extremism-affected regions.

As per the government plan, the coverage of All India Radio’s FM channels will be expanded to more than 80 per cent of the population and 8 lakhs Dish DTH set-top boxes (DTBs) will be distributed free of cost to people living in remote areas.

Addressing the media Information & Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur detailed the Broadcasting Infrastructure and Network Development (BIND).

The BIND scheme has also the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs’ approval to develop the infrastructure of the Prasar Bharati, which includes AIR and DD.

The BIND scheme is the vehicle for providing financial support to Prasar Bharati for expenses related to the expansion and upgrade of its broadcasting infrastructure, content development and civil work related to the organisation, Thakur said.

Another priority area of the scheme is to develop high-quality content for both domestic and international viewers, and to ensure the availability of diverse content to accommodate more channels, the minister said.

Doordarshan at present operates 36 TV channels, including 28 regional ones; AIR runs more than 500 broadcasting centres. The BIND scheme will increase the coverage of AIR FM transmitters in the country to 66% by geographical area and 80% in terms of population, up from 59% and 68%, respectively, the government said.