(13 March 2006 5:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Targeting the areas wherein the terrestrial coverage is negligible, the free-to-air direct-to-home (DTH) service of Doordarshan -- DD Direct Plus will soon be available to states including -- Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, North-East Region, Rajasthan and Uttaranchal.

The Information & Broadcasting and parliamentary affairs minister P R Das Munshi has announced that 10,000 DTH receive systems including the dish and the set-to-box (STB) will be distributed free-of-cost.

In an official statement issued, the free distribution of DTH sets is targeted to the states where the terrestrial coverage is lower than national coverage.

This was done through public institutions viz. Anganwadis, Schools, Public Health Centres, Panchayats, Youth Clubs, Cooperative Societies, etc. The free distribution of DTH sets is targeted to the States where the terrestrial coverage is lower than national coverage.

So far, 8,465 DTH receive units have been installed in the uncovered villages of above States and North-East Region.

The DD Direct Plus platform includes the Doordarshan channels, private TV channels and audio channels of All India Radio. Prasar Bharati will provide 100 television channels and 50 radio channels by the end of this year (2006). The service is available on the high power transponders of NSS-6 satellite.