Soni to meet N-E ministers on broadcast strategy
In an effort to upgrade government’s communication setup in the insurgency-affected and inaccessible parts of the Northeast, Union information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni has written to chief ministers of Northeastern states seeking their cooperation and support.
Ms Soni has, in a letter sought these states’ partnership in strengthening of government information machinery in the inaccessible and insurgency-prone areas.
All seven states in the Northeast and Sikkim have been invited to take part in a meeting scheduled to be held on July 13 in Guwahati.
Official sources stated that the Ms Soni has sought the presence of information ministers of these states in the meeting to help evolve and develop a strategy to meet the communication needs of sensitive region. “Earlier the meeting was scheduled to be attended by representatives of various government information departments and print and broadcasters of the region. However, the minister felt that the government cause will be better served if the state governments too were involved in the process,” sources added.
The agenda of the meeting includes extending the coverage of Doordarshan and AIR and also promote private FM channels in the region.
One of the major proposals is to increase the reach of Doordarshan in the area. The DD1 channel has a reach of 84 per cent of population while DD News reaches 51 percent of the population.
The I&B minister is also keen on improving the content and programming status of the Northeast channel, the Doordarshan channel dedicated for the states.
As part of the consultations process, local units of Doordarshan, AIR, PIB, Song and Drama Division, DAVP, Directorate of Film Festivals, broadcasters and local media houses will also take part in the meeting.
Sources stated that it was the first time that a Union I&B minister was holding such consultations on a regional basis.
In fact, the meeting is being seen as a mini state information ministers conference. A national version of such a meeting was held in New Delhi a few months ago to discuss government strategy on the information needs of the country.
The aim of the meet is to strategically plan for the communication needs of such an area for an integrated campaign regarding peculiar issues being faced by special areas like the Northeast.
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