Minister for Information & Broadcasting M.Venkaiah Naidu has announced a separate 24x7 DD channel for the state of Jharkhand. The Government was putting up a vision document for a 24x7 DD Jharkhand channel for the people of the state and the proposal was included in the 3 years Action Plan of DD. However till the launch of 24x7 channel, DD Ranchi programmes would be telecast on DD Bihar. Jharkhand related programmes would be provided a special window in already available 24x7 satellite channel- DD Bihar. The Minister stated this at the review meeting of the programs & initiatives of Ministry of I&B held at Ranchi, Jharkhand today. Chief Minister of Jharkhand Shri Raghubar Das was also present during the review meeting.While giving an overview of issues discussed during the review meeting, Shri Naidu said that Government of Jharkhand has been requested to provide a dedicated power supply through separate feeders to All India Radio & Doordarshan Stations in the state. He mentioned that action was being taken to cover all shadow areas of Koderma region by December 2018, to ensure 100% coverage of all geographic regions in the state by DD & AIR.
During the review meeting, Shri Naidu urged State Government to make use of the platform of Community Radio to ensure last mile reach. Educational Institutions & NGOs should be motivated to set up community radio stations. He said that Community radio was an empowering tool which caters to the information needs of the people in local language/dialect. It broadcast programmes on various local issues relevant to the community. He added that to give a boost to radio outreach, Ministry of I&B has increased the subsidy amount to 75% for stakeholders for setting up of CRS in various states.Elaborating further about enhancing the radio outreach in the state, Shri Naidu mentioned that under the FM Phase III, 16 more Private FM channels have been proposed for the state of Jharkhand.Shri Naidu also complimented the state government for receiving the Special Mention Award in the Most Film Friendly State Award category at the 64th National Film Awards. He said that such appreciation would encourage state government to establish the profile of the state as the best filming destination.