Prasar Bharati mulls launching web portal to fight 'anti-India bias'
NEW DELHI: National broadcaster Prasar Bharati has proposed a new digital platform and internet channel to challenge the "biases of the elite English media that reduce India's cultural identity" and counter terms such as "Hindu nationalist" to selectively refer to certain leaders or political parties.
The government is soon expected to take a decision on a detailed recommendation prepared by a Prasar Bharati committee headed by its chairman A Surya Prakash after four months of discussions.
Top officials in the government are keen on a news medium that will "counter reports by domestic and foreign media that focus on stray incidents of violence and undermine the cultural identity of the country," a person aware of the development told ET.
The Centre has done away with the idea of setting up a global Indian TV channel that was initially mooted because of the high cost involved, top government officials said. The proposed digital channel will largely focus on economy, geo-politics, elections, international terror, global crises and culture, Prasar Bharati said in the concept note of a detailed report it submitted to the information and broadcasting (I& B) ministry on Wednesday.
The channel will also show stories of Indian spiritual and religious leaders who made many foreigners look up to the country for spiritual care, philanthropy, and mental and physical wellbeing, the report said. This digital venture is estimated to be founded at a cost of Rs 75 crore and will have 150 professionals working on it.
"The world views India as a conflict zone of religions, which is completely absurd. It is time to change that completely and tell the actual story — India's growth story," Surya Prakash said.
The Prasar Bharati committee has also suggested special programmes in Mandarin to take India's views on security and strategy matters to Chinese scholars, and creating news documentaries on ethnic issues ignored by other media, for instance, on Pakistani Hindus. The report has taken inspiration from some foreign media such as Russiabased English channel RT.
"There has to be political will to 'show the mirror' to others in the name of universal rights and morality. RT Russian 24/7, for example, seems to be giving a lot of play to negative news from the US — police shootings, racism," the report said. The channel has also planned politically loaded humour and satires such as the ones hosted by Jon Stewart and John Oliver and shows inspired by those such as America Tonight , Fault Lines, and Your World this Morning.
I&B minister Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday had reiterated the need for western media to not ignore the growth story of India by "magnifying and glorifying" some untoward incidents.
The government is soon expected to take a decision on a detailed recommendation prepared by a Prasar Bharati committee headed by its chairman A Surya Prakash after four months of discussions.
Top officials in the government are keen on a news medium that will "counter reports by domestic and foreign media that focus on stray incidents of violence and undermine the cultural identity of the country," a person aware of the development told ET.
The Centre has done away with the idea of setting up a global Indian TV channel that was initially mooted because of the high cost involved, top government officials said. The proposed digital channel will largely focus on economy, geo-politics, elections, international terror, global crises and culture, Prasar Bharati said in the concept note of a detailed report it submitted to the information and broadcasting (I& B) ministry on Wednesday.
The channel will also show stories of Indian spiritual and religious leaders who made many foreigners look up to the country for spiritual care, philanthropy, and mental and physical wellbeing, the report said. This digital venture is estimated to be founded at a cost of Rs 75 crore and will have 150 professionals working on it.
"The world views India as a conflict zone of religions, which is completely absurd. It is time to change that completely and tell the actual story — India's growth story," Surya Prakash said.
The Prasar Bharati committee has also suggested special programmes in Mandarin to take India's views on security and strategy matters to Chinese scholars, and creating news documentaries on ethnic issues ignored by other media, for instance, on Pakistani Hindus. The report has taken inspiration from some foreign media such as Russiabased English channel RT.
"There has to be political will to 'show the mirror' to others in the name of universal rights and morality. RT Russian 24/7, for example, seems to be giving a lot of play to negative news from the US — police shootings, racism," the report said. The channel has also planned politically loaded humour and satires such as the ones hosted by Jon Stewart and John Oliver and shows inspired by those such as America Tonight , Fault Lines, and Your World this Morning.
I&B minister Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday had reiterated the need for western media to not ignore the growth story of India by "magnifying and glorifying" some untoward incidents.
