BIND scheme: AIR, Doordarshan to boost content, coverage; focus on border, LWE and rural areas

By Payal Mehta
New Delhi [India], January 6 : The Union Cabinet gave its approval to the "Broadcast Infrastructure Network Development (BIND)" scheme with an outlay of Rs 2,539.61 crore for modernization, upgradation and expansion of All India Radio and Doordarshan for the five-year period ending 2025-26.
The plan includes priority projects of AIR and Doordarshan with a focus on expanding and strengthening the FM radio network and mobile TV production facilities amounting to Rs 950 crore which are to be completed in fast-track mode.
The plan aims at major upgradation to create better infrastructure and widen the public broadcaster's reach in left-wing extremism (LWE), border and strategic areas. The development of high-quality content for both domestic and international audiences, and the availability of diverse content by upgrading the capacity of the DTH (Direct to Home) platform to accommodate more channels will expand the choice available to the audience.
The plan also aims to expand the FM network primarily in tier-II and tier-III cities with a focus on LWE and aspirational districts.
"These funds are critical for network expansion for All India Radio (AIR) Doordarshan (DD) content enhancement, especially in LWE and border regions. Our focus will be on enhancing and modernisation of our infrastructure," Prasar Bharati CEO, Gaurav Dwivedi told ANI.
Several focus areas have been identified by the national public broadcaster. "The idea is to increase the FM coverage from 58 per cent to 66 per cent identifying the Joe graphical area and up to 80 per cent from 68 per cent by population," Dwivedi said.
Since border areas are the focus of expansion by this scheme, several regions including the India-Nepal border and Jammu and Kashmir are among those that have already been identified.
"Expanding coverage of AIR FM coverage to 63.02 per cent from the existing 48.27 per cent at the India-Nepal border. AIR FM coverage from 62 per cent to 76 per cent along the J-K border is also on our focus list," Prasar Bharati CEO said.
The scheme will also generate indirect employment by way of manufacturing and services related to the supply and installation of broadcast equipment. Content generation will provide direct and indirect employment in different media fields in content production.
Forty-one FM transmitters of 10 KW and higher capacities besides 100 transmitters of 100 w for increasing FM coverage by more than 6 lakh sqm primarily in tier-II and tier-III cities, LWE and border areas and aspirational districts of the country is one of the thrust areas of the BiND scheme.
Expansion of DD Free Dish capacity from the existing 116 channels to about 250 channels for providing a rich and diverse bouquet of channels free of cost will also be pursued.
Providing rich content including in regional languages on entertainment, health, education, youth, sports and another public service will also be one of the focus areas.