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Eyeing a bigger
chunk of the market and the convergence scenario, government has
taken a major policy initiative for upgradation and technological
development of Doordarshan and All India Radio in the Tenth Five
Year Plan.
In its Annual
Report 2001-02 placed in Parliament recently, the Information and
Broadcasting Ministry has identified major thrust areas for the
purpose, like expansion of FM Radio Service to achieve coverage
of 60 per cent of the population, digitalisation of 50 per cent
production facilities for good quality convergence ready content.
This would
also support interactive radio, achieving 50 per cent automation
of studio facilities and creation of high quality content with long
shelf life, an official release quoting the report said.
The plan also
chalked out a comprehensive action for Doordarshan, including reaching
uncovered areas through multi-channel digital satellite distribution
in KU Band, full digitalisation of production facilities in major
kendras and partial in other kendras to ensure production and processing
of good quality convergence ready content and start IT enabled multimedia
services.
Last year,
Prasar Bharati took several initiatives and policy decisions to
increase its revenue resources like hiring out its surplus infrastructural
and technical facilities, sharing of infrastructure facilities with
other broadcasters and providing consultancy services for setting
up broadcasting facilities by other broadcasters, the report said.
An AIR Resource
Centre has been set up and a process has been initiated to invite
global tenders for renting out the surplus production facilities
of Doordarshan.
The government
is also examining the feasibility of the mandatory installations
of Conditional Access System (CAS), which would give access to consumers
for channels they pay for, the report said. The report of the Task
Force on CAS is under the Ministry’s examination.
After the opening
up of FM Radio for private parties, 29 companies were selected for
allocation of 101 FM Channels in 40 centres.
Four have since
become operational at Bangalore, Indore, Ahmedabad and Lucknow,
while licensees for Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai have been granted
extension of eight months to co-locate their set up on the towers
of AIR. FM licensees for Mumbai have been given 24 months.
The Report
said the country was poised to become a major uplinking hub in South
Asia with the new uplinking policy. Fifty-four TV channels are permitted
to uplink from India and 12 companies to set up 13 uplinking hubs.
The PIB proposes
to open its offices at Ranchi and Itanagar, the only state capitals
it does not exist, it said.
—PTI
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