The Narendra Modi government is planning to come up with a high-end digital platform to present 'India's point of view and perspective on global events on the Internet', reported the Economic Times Tech.
The idea was discussed by a committee headed by the Prasar Bharati Chairman A Surya Prakash, and approved by the Prasar Bharati board recently.
The operating cost is estimated at around Rs 75 crore.
This platform “will challenge the anti-India narrative in foreign media through hard and compelling commentary, challenge stereotypes attributed to Indian systems and put forward the India perspective".
Among the members of the committee were Sunil Alagh and Shashi Shekar Vempati, members of the Prasar Bharati board; R Jagannathan, editorial director, Swarajya magazine; Vamsee Juluri, professor, University of San Francisco; and Prasar Bharati interim CEO Rajeev Singh.
The digital platform will serve as the go-to point for "the Indian voice" for global opinion makers, influencers, domestic media, India-focused researchers, global academia and think tanks, Surya Prakash told ET, adding that Vempati had come up with the concept.
The idea of a global news channel was first mooted by the United Progressive Alliance government but the initiative could never come to fruition. "It couldn't happen earlier for whatever reason. But this is the right time to have a global media presence," Surya Prakash said.
Specific goals have been set: over a three-year period, 10 million to 100 million page views a month, 1 million mobile app downloads, and 1 million YouTube subscribers.