(a) whether various television channels have been started by the Government for different areas;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the Government proposes to start television channels for promotion in the field of agriculture; and
(d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?
THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING; AND MINISTER OF YOUTH AFFAIRS & SPORTS (SHRI ANURAG SINGH THAKUR)
(a) & (b): Prasar Bharati is currently telecasting 36 DD Channels comprising of one International Channel, 7 National Channels, 21 Regional Satellite TV channels operating on 24 Hour basis and 7 DD channels operating on limited hour basis. The limited hour channels have been made available on “DD Free Dish” round the clock by incorporating feeds from other DD channels for seamless viewing.
Prasar Bharati has also made 51 co-branded educational TV channels available to the viewers of “DD Free Dish” a free-to-air DTH service, as per MoU signed with Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-Informatics [(BISAG(N)], Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India.
(c) & (d): As regards to the promotion in the field of Agriculture, DD Kisan, a full-fledged television channel of Prasar Bharati, dedicated for the Indian farmers and agriculture was launched on 26th May 2015 by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India. The objective of this channel is to serve the farming and rural community in India and reaching out to the remotest parts of the country, to inform and educate the rural populace and work towards creating a holistic environment for sustainable and inclusive growth of the farmers.
Prasar Bharati is also having a dedicated “YouTube” channel of DD Kisan where the viewers may access this channel and also its various programmes digitally across the globe.
DD Kisan is also in the list of mandatory channels to be carried out by all the Delivery Platform Operators (DPOs) i.e. all cable operators, private DTH operators, IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) Service providers across the country.