Lok Sabha Question No. 88 (STARRED), answered on 2015-12-04
Subject: Modernisation of Doordarshan
Ministry: INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING
Asked by: RAGHAV LAKHANPAL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.88 (TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.12.2015)

## MODERNISATION OF DOORDARSHAN

- *88    SHRI RAGHAV LAKHANPAL:

Will the Minister of INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING

be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  assessed  the  viewership  of  Doordarshan and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whetherthe Government has initiated any action plan for the modernisation of Doordarshan so as to enable it to compete with private TV channels;
- (c) if so, the details thereof including the status of its implementation; and
- (d) thefunds allocated and utilised for the implementation of the above during 2014-2015 and 2015-16?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE; MINISTER OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS;AND MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING (SHRI ARUN JAITLEY)

- (a) to (d): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d)  OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.88 FOR ANSWER ON 04.12.2015

- (a):      Yes  Madam.  Government  and  Prasar  Bharati  arecontinuously assessing the viewership of Doordarshan (DD).Prasar Bharati is subscribing to Broadcasting Audience Research Council (BARC) for weekly feedback of viewership data since April, 2015.  Details of viewership of DD Channels, as per BARC  data areat Annexure-I.
- (b)  &  (c):The    modernization  of  Doordarshan  is  an  ongoing  process  and schemes in this regard have been formulated and implemented from time to  time.  Modernization  plan,  inter  alia,  includes  digitalization;  adoption  of new  technologies  at  par  with  International  standards;  replacement  of  old ageing  equipment  and  upgradation  etc.to  enable  Prasar  Bharati    to compete with private TV Channels. Prasar Bharati also reviews its policy for content as required.

As part of 12 th Plan schemes, the following schemes of Modernization of  Studios,  Transmitters  &  Satellite  Broadcast  equipment  are  at  various stages of implementation:

- i)  Digitalization  of  Transmitters  and  Studios  in  Doordarshan  Network, including adoption of DVB-T2 technology.
2. ii) High Definition Television (HDTV).
3. iii) Modernization, Augmentation and Replacement of Transmitter & Studio Equipment.
4. vi) Modernization, Augmentation and Replacement of Satellite Broadcast Equipment.

Details of major projects taken up and status thereof for Modernization of Doordarshan as part of 12 th Plan Schemes are given at Annexure-II .

- (d) :Against funds amounting to Rs.155 crore allocated in 2014-15 by the Prasar  Bharati  from  the  funds  given  by  the  Government  for  the  above schemes, Prasar Bharati has reported an expenditure of Rs. 153.37 crore .Further, against funds amounting to Rs.237crore allocated in 2015-16 by the Prasar Bharati from the funds given by the Government for the above schemes, an expenditure of Rs 41.46 crore has been incurred till October, 2015.

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## ANNEXURE - I

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 88 FOR ANSWER ON 04.12.2015.

Details of viewership of DD Channels, as per Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) data are as under:-

| S.No.   | Channels          |   Viewership (In Million) |
|---------|-------------------|---------------------------|
| 1       | DD National       |                       354 |
| 2       | DD Punjabi        |                        99 |
| 3       | DD News           |                        21 |
| 4       | DD Sahyadri       |                        19 |
| 5       | DD Podhigai       |                        14 |
| 6       | DD Chandana       |                        11 |
| 7       | DD Bangla         |                        11 |
| 8       | DD Lucknow        |                         9 |
| 9       | DD Sports         |                         7 |
| 10      | DD Yadagiri       |                         7 |
| 11      | DD Kisan          |                         7 |
| 12      | DD Malayalam      |                         7 |
| 13      | DD Bihar          |                         6 |
| 14      | DD Girnar         |                         6 |
| 15      | DD Oriya          |                         5 |
| 16      | DD Madhya Pradesh |                         4 |
| 17      | DD Rajasthan      |                         3 |
| 18      | DD Bharati        |                         3 |
| 19      | DD Urdu           |                         2 |
| 20      | DD North East     |                         2 |
| 21      | DD Kashir         |                         1 |
|         | Grand Total       |                       596 |

As  per  BARC  data  of  last  6  weeks  (41  to  46  weeks)  (  after  inclusion  of  Rural markets), total viewership of DD channels across All India is 596 Million. DD National with 354 Million leads among all DD channels followed by DD Punjabi with 99 Million. DD News is onThirdpositionwith21 Million viewership.

## ANNEXURE-II

## ANNEXURE  REFRRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (b)&  (c)  OF  LOK  SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 88 FOR ANSWER ON 04.12.2015

| Major projects taken up and status thereof for Modernization of Doordarshan as part of 12 th Plan Schemes   | Major projects taken up and status thereof for Modernization of Doordarshan as part of 12 th Plan Schemes   | Major projects taken up and status thereof for Modernization of Doordarshan as part of 12 th Plan Schemes                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Sl. No.                                                                                                     | Projects                                                                                                    | Present Status                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
| 1                                                                                                           | Digitalization of Studios - 39 Nos.                                                                         | All the 39 Studios have been made digital (except Camera chains). Tenders for Camera chains have been opened and under evaluation.                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| 2                                                                                                           | Digital High Power Transmitters HPTs)-63 Nos.                                                               | In the 1 st Phase, 19 digital transmitters (HPTs) are under implementation, out of which 16 digital HPTs are ready for commissioning and 3 digital HPTs are at advanced stage of completion. Action for setting up of remaining 44 digital transmitters in the next phase has been initiated. Specifications of transmitter equipment are under finalization. |
| 3                                                                                                           | High Definition TV (HDTV) terrestrial transmitters - 4 Nos.                                                 | All the 4 HDTV transmitters at 4 metro locations have been installed and ready for commissioning.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |
| 4                                                                                                           | High Definition TV (HDTV) Studio - 4 Nos.                                                                   | HD Studio at Delhi & Mumbai has been set up. Action for setting up HD Studio at Chennai & Kolkata has been initiated.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
| 5                                                                                                           | Multi camera Mobile production facility in HDTV format - 3 Nos.                                             | Supplied one each at Delhi & Mumbai and Notice Inviting Tender (NIT) has been issued for procurement of remaining one.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
| 6                                                                                                           | Replacement High Power Transmitters (HPTs) - 15 Nos.                                                        | Old ageing High Power Transmitters at 13 locations have been replaced by new HPTs. At remaining 2 locations, installation of transmitter equipment has been completed & under testing.                                                                                                                                                                        |
| 7                                                                                                           | Modernization of 20 Studio centres by way of replacement of old ageing equipment                            | All equipment envisaged as part of 11 th Plan schemes, except Camera chains, have been provided. Tenders for Camera chains have been opened and under evaluation. Equipment envisaged as part of 12 th Plan schemes are at various stages of procurement.                                                                                                     |
| 8                                                                                                           | Replacement of old 100 WLow Power Transmitters (LPTs) by 500W Automode LPTs (110 nos)                       | All Low Power Transmitters supplied and installed.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| 9                                                                                                           | Upgradation of 18 existing Earth Stations                                                                   | One Earth Station upgraded. At 4 locations, all Earth Station equipment, except Upconvertor, have been installed and tested. Tenders have been opened for Upconvertor and under evaluation. At remaining 13 locations, specifications of equipment are under finalization.                                                                                    |
| 10                                                                                                          | New Earth stations at 05 places                                                                             | New Earth Station has been set up at 04 places. For the remaining one, tenders have been opened for Earth Station equipment and under evaluation.                                                                                                                                                                                                             |
| 11                                                                                                          | Replacement of Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG) units at 6 places                                    | All Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG) units have been supplied.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
| 12                                                                                                          | New Digital Satellite News Gathering units at 9 places                                                      | Tender has been opened and under evaluation.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |

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