Doordarshan diplomacy

1 MARCH 2013 , Gateway House

Source: Gateway House

Doordarshan, India's national TV broadcaster, has been long known for its low production quality, and the lack of a global reach. With India's steady rise as an economic power, there is increasing curiosity about India in the world. How can Doordarshan promote India's interests in the global market?

BY

 Sambuddha Mitra Mustafi

FELLOW, SWANITI INITIATIVE

In the information world, the country with the better story wins. One of the big weaknesses of India's foreign policy today is that we do not tell our own story to the world – we leave that job to foreign media outlets with a global presence. India has the world's largest free media, but none with a truly global reach and influence like BBC, CNN, New York Times or even new entrants like Al-Jazeera, CCTV or Russia Today.

This anomaly needs to change quickly: if India wants to be a serious global player, it needs a credible global voice, one that goes beyond Bollywood.

National Innovation Council Chairman Sam Pitroda is heading the latest committee set up to suggest changes in the functioning of Prasar Bharati, which oversees Doordarshan and All India Radio. Already, plans are afoot to launch Doordarshan television in Africa for the first time, a continent where Indian business has substantial and growing stakes, and where the Chinese media is already making waves, even moving ahead of established players there like the BBC.

All of India watches Doordarshan, but it has severe limitations, most acute of which is that funding comes from the government, making it vulnerable to political interference. To top that, the administration is run by bureaucrats, not journalists. So while on paper Prasar Bharati is an autonomous body, in its funding and administration it still functions very much like a government organization, which has killed its credibility as an independent media outlet.

The government should look at options like the license fee model of funding, where if each of India's 150 million TV households paid Rs 5 (10 cents) a month, it would generate $168 million (Rs. 840 crore) in revenue annually. This is eminently do-able. Last year, BBC News and BBC Parliament put together had an operating expenditure of only $105 million (Rs. 525 crore). In 1996, Al-Jazeera started with an initial grant of $137 million (Rs. 685 crore).

More at: http://www.gatewayhouse.in/publication/gateway-house/features/doordarshan-diplomacy