Lok Sabha Question No. 3211 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-11
Subject: Transmission and Coverage of AIR and Doordarshan in Bastar
Ministry: INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING
Asked by: Shri Mahesh Kashyap

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF INFORMATION & BROADCASTING

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 3211

## (TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.03.2026)

## TRANSMISSION AND COVERAGE OF AIR AND DOORDARSHAN IN BASTAR 3211.  SHRI MAHESH KASHYAP:

Will the Minister of Information and Broadcasting be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  is  aware  of  the  inadequate  number  of  permanent  centers/relay centers  of  All  India  Radio  (Akashvani)  and  Doordarshan  in  the  Bastar  Lok  Sabha Constituency of Chhattisgarh;
- (b) if so,  the details  of transmission capacity and coverage area of All  India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan (DD) centers/relay stations currently  operational, location-wise including the Jagdalpur,  Dantewada,  Sukma,  Bijapur,  Narayanpur  and  Kondagaon  district  under  the Bastar Lok Sabha Constituency of Chhattisgarh;
- (c)   whether it is a fact that clear broadcast of All India Radio and Doordarshan programmes is unavailable or the signals are extremely weak in several remote, tribal and Naxal-affected areas of Bastar;
- (d)  whether  any  proposal  is  under  consideration  by  the  Government  to  set  up  new  All  India Radio and Doordarshan centers, FM/Low Power Transmitters (LPTs) or Digital Transmission Units in the Bastar region;
- (e) if so, the details thereof along with the budget allocated and the timeline proposed; and
- (f)   the  special  measures  being  adopted  by  the  Government  for  the  effective  dissemination  of programmes in local tribal dialects (Gondi, Halbi, Bhatri etc.) and for broadcasting messages related to education, health, disaster management and security in the Bastar region?

## ANSWER

## THE  MINISTER  OF  STATE  FOR  INFORMATION  AND  BROADCASTING  AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS

## (DR. L. MURUGAN)

(a) to (f): Akashvani operates 4 stations in Bastar, Chhattisgarh. These comprise a full-fledged station at Jagdalpur equipped with a 100 kW Medium Wave (MW) transmitter and a 100 W FM transmitter, along with three 100 W FM relay stations located at Narainpur, Bailadila and Konta. The  MW  transmission  from  Akashvani  Jagdalpur  covers  the  entire  Bastar  Parliamentary Constituency, while the FM transmitters at Jagdalpur, Narainpur, Konta and Bailadila provide coverage within a radius of about 10-20 km.

To  further  augment  coverage  of  FM  broadcast  in  the  Bastar  region,  4  new  FM transmitters have been approved for installation at a combined cost of Rs. 39.70 crore under the Broadcasting  Infrastructure  and  Network  Development  (BIND)  scheme  for  2021  -  26.  These include a 10 kW FM transmitter at Jagdalpur, 5 kW FM transmitters at Narainpur & Bailadila each, and 1 kW FM transmitter at Kondagaon.

Further,  DD  Chhattisgarh  is  a  24×7  dedicated  Doordarshan  channel  for  the  State  of Chhattisgarh,  telecast  from  Doordarshan  Kendra,  Raipur.  It  broadcasts  programmes  related  to art, culture, heritage, literature, traditions, people, eminent personalities, news and current affairs of  the  entire  State,  including  the  Bastar  region.  DD  Chhattisgarh  also  regularly  telecasts programmes  and  news  related  to  various  Government  schemes  and  their  implementation.  In addition, programmes produced by the Programme Generating Facility (PGF) at Jagdalpur are specifically  tailored  to  the  needs  of  local  tribal  communities  and  are  telecast  regularly  on  DD Chhattisgarh.

Doordarshan's Free-To-Air Direct-to-Home (DTH) service 'DD Free Dish' is available throughout the country, including remote, tribal and Naxal-affected areas of Bastar. Apart from all Doordarshan channels (including DD Chhattisgarh), several Akashvani channels, private TV channels and educational channels are also available on DD Free Dish.

In addition, more than 260 Akashvani channels are available on mobile phones through the 'NewsOnAir' mobile app. Prasar Bharati has also launched its OTT platform 'WAVES' in 2024,  a  multi-genre  digital  streaming  aggregator  providing  infotainment  content.  Various channels  of  the  Doordarshan  and  Akashvani  networks  are  also  integrated  into  the  WAVES platform,  making  information,  education  and  cultural  content  easily  accessible  to  the  public across the country.

*****