'TV should be accessible to every household in country'

Hyderabad: Amit Khare, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said that one of the challenges for the public broadcaster Doordarshan was technology upgradation and improving access.

He was participating at inaugural ceremony of the 1st India International Broadcasting Conclave here on Monday. He said efforts should be made to take television to every household, like electricity.

He said that another challenge for Doordarshan was diversity.

"People are today demanding local content. India's rich diversity has to be celebrated and it should be reflected in the content of programmes.

Utilisation of spectrum and making use of it properly is also crucial. It must be judiciously used to spread education, in a vast country like ours".

Khare said that 2018 had been very satisfying for Prasar Bharati with the launch of new channel 'Aruna Prabha' in Arunachal Pradesh.

The 'Kisan' channel meant for farmers, has been a success, he said.

The two-day conclave is being organised by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Prasar Bharati to deliberate upon the challenges and opportunities in the broadcasting sector.

Several international delegates from Bangladesh, Malaysia and Singapore are participating in the Conclave.

A Surya Prakash, CEO, Prasar Bharati said that as a public broadcaster, Prasar Bharati, aims to stay ahead of the aspiration and consumption and technology of the citizens of India.

Prasar Bharti is also striving to constantly upgrade technology and dish out quality programmes.

He said at one time broadcast meant radio and television, but today new age platforms have brought about a paradigm shift in the way broadcasting is defined.

In 2018, the Indian media and entertainment sector grew at 13.4% more than the nominal GDP and is expected to cross $ 33.6 billion by 2021, growing at an annual rate of 11.6%.

He said according to the FICCI Frames Report, called 'A billion screens of Opportunity', while TV has retained its position, the growth is expected to come from digital in 2019 overtaking the film entertainment sector.

Digital consumption will grow and monetization avenues will see great innovation to cater to the new Indian customer segments, he said.

The media entertainment and technology industry is highly dynamic, raising the stakes for content platforms. There is ample room to build new content and create ideas that reflect the societal need for media consumption, he said.