‘Tell the India story to a global audience’: Prasar Bharati set to open a ‘BBC-like’ channel

National public broadcaster Prasar Bharati is set to open a new channel, DD International, which will be established on the lines of the UK-based news network BBC World, the Indian Express reported.

The project’s objective is to “project India’s point of view globally on contemporary issues of both global and domestic significance” and to “tell the India story to a global audience”. Express noted that the aim is to make DD International an “authoritative global media source on India through credible, exhaustive and accurate global news service”.

This decision comes at a time when the Modi government is facing backlash from the foreign media over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

The broadcaster’s officials told Indian Express that the tender is “not a knee-jerk reaction and the idea has existed for a long time.”

On May 13, the report noted, Prasar Bharati floated a draft expression of interest seeking a consultancy service to come up with a detailed project report on the "establishment of DD International".

Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati told Express that the idea of having an international presence for Doordarshan was "long overdue", comparing it to the "first iteration of BBC or Al Jazeera". He also said that "at this point, it will be more news-oriented, like BBC World Service" but can later "evolve".

Vempati also said that the idea now is to get “a strategy roadmap in six to eight months”. But, he said, it will be delayed by a few weeks or months considering the “uncertainty arising from the pandemic”.