The Union Government is planning to launch an international channel to project India’s point of view on global issues, much like ‘BBC-World’.
This move comes at a time when Modi government is facing criticism from International media community for its Covid handling, freedom of speech issue.
According to Prasar Bharati officials, the tender is not a knee-jerk reaction and the idea has existed for a long time.
The invitation for Expression of Interest was floated on May 13 for a consultancy service to come up with a detailed project report “on establishment of DD International”. The EOI stated: “In view of the strategic objective to build a global presence for Doordarshan and to establish an international voice for India, it is envisaged to establish DD International”. Further, it said that the EOI “is being issued for a Detailed Project Report (DPR) from reputed global consultants with experience in advising international broadcasters/media houses on projects of this nature”.
This will be Doordarshan’s second channel with a similar objective. DD India, which is Doordarshan’s English news and current affairs channel, has also been fine tuned over the years to target a global audience. DD India was even renamed as DD World for a while before it was changed back to its original name in 2019.
Sources in Prasar Bharati said to The Print that, the new DD International channel aims to be a truly global channel like BBC World, and ensure that it is not just watched by the Indian diaspora but also by a global audience.
[ Input : Indian Express, The Print]
