DD’s Return to Saffron Logo Just A Start, Modi 3.0 Has Big Plans for MIB, Prasar Bharati | Exclusive

The return to the original ‘orange’ logo for Doordarshan is just the start. The Narendra Modi government is planning a host of changes and introductions at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) and Prasar Bharati if it wins a third term in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, sources told News18.

DD India will be developed as a global brand with bureaus in 15 countries, the Prasar Bharati’s SHABD portal will be developed as global news agency by onboarding over 1000 media entities, including foreign outlets, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Hub is planned in the MIB and a Bharat NAMAN portal would be launched for access of archival material and media access to common citizens. There is a plan to announce a ‘Global Media and Entertainment Summit’ and counter ‘fake news’ by expanding the ‘PIB Fact-Check Unit’ across regions. The Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) could see a Masters Course.

All this is part of a 100-day and five-year-plan being drawn up for ‘Modi 3.0’ by ministries on the directions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A controversy has broken out after Doordarshan returned from its blue logo to orange. This was the original colour chosen by Indira Gandhi in 1982 for the channel and has been restored, the BJP has said. The opposition has termed it an election code violation.

PLANS FOR MODI 3.0

The big plan for Prasar Bharati is to enhance India’s soft power and explain the foreign footprint of Indian broadcasting and of Indian films, sources said. This will include making DD India and International Film Festival of India (IFFI) global brands. The government also plans to expand ‘DD Free Dish’ to neighbouring countries and increase the number of channels under it. The recently launched SHABD will be developed as India’s global news agency by onboarding over 1,000 media entities, including foreign outlets. The audio-visual network ‘SHABD’’ has been designed to provide daily news feeds in video, audio, text, photo and other formats to the subscribers from media landscape and is powered by the vast network of Prasar Bharati reporters, correspondents and stringers across India.

The IIMC could see launch of a Masters Course while the Broadcasting Services Bill could also be brought in the Cabinet for a regulatory framework of the sector. The government also plans to operationalize the 500th community radio station in Aizwal in the first 100 days of the Modi government.

‘Jan Samvad’ and ‘Bharat NAMAN’ are the two other big projects for Modi 3.0, sources said. This will include an AI Hub in the MIB for real-time translation, dubbing and sub-titling and AI-based content generation, and the National Video Gateway as a hub of free content for free use by the public.

The ‘Bharat NAMAN’ will be developed as a national archival and media access to citizens platform, with onboarding of books, photos and iconic documents across languages. Efforts will be made for monetisation of the same through access to film-makers and producers for commercial use, sources told News18.

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