News Broadcasting
Govt allocates DD Kisan Rs 12.05 crore for FY’22: I&B minister Anurag Thakur
Mumbai: The Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Anurag Singh Thakur on Tuesday said that the government has allocated a total of Rs 12.05 crore to DD Kisan in financial year 2022-23, which is being utilised for farmers’ education.
While answering a question asked by a politician and Lok Sabha member from Gujarat during the parliament session, the minister highlighted different initiatives the government is taking to educate farmers and build their capacity by imparting new knowledge.
The I&B minister noted that Prasar Bharti’s 24×7 satellite TV channel “DD Kisan” is exclusively dedicated to the farmers and the agriculture sector. “The objective of this channel is to serve and educate farmers and build their capacity to use new technologies in their activities and extend its reach to the remotest parts of the country,” he added.
“The programmes of “DD Kisan” are designed to inform and educate the rural populace and work towards creating a holistic environment for sustainable and inclusive growth,” he added.
The minister further explained that Krishi Darshan, the field-based stories on technologies in agriculture, major events and success stories, is telecast five days a week and Gaon Kisan, field-based stories on animal husbandry and agripreneurs, is telecast five days a week.
The programme Krishi Darshan is being telecast on 20 DD Channels in 12 languages, including Hindi. Prasar Bharati also has a dedicated YouTube channel for DD Kisan where the viewers may access this channel and also its various programmes digitally across the globe.
Further, All India Radio broadcasts a 30-minute, six days a week, dedicated interactive programme, Kisanvani, in respective regional languages, over 96 AIR stations across the country and Kisan Ki Baat programme over FM Gold Channel in Delhi, for the farming community in collaboration with the ministry of agriculture & farmers’ welfare, the government of India, he also added.
Thakur also mentioned the government’s effort to analyse the utilisation of dedicated channels for farmers.
He further replied, “the impact of the DD Kisan Channel is regularly monitored through feedback from the farmers during field-based and interactive recording, and from toll-free lines provided for farmers.”
“The regular analysis and impact of the channel are also done by the scientists and experts from ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research), IARI (Indian Agricultural Research Institute) and KVKs (Krishi Vigyan Kendras), etc.,” he added further.
News Broadcasting
Rajesh Sundaram joins NDTV Profit as senior editor, assignment
The 32-year newsroom veteran has launched channels on three continents and covered everything from 9/11 to South African television
MUMBAI: NDTV Profit has bolstered its newsroom with a hire who has done rather more than most. Rajesh Sundaram, a journalist with over three decades of editorial, managerial and consultative experience across India and international markets, joins as senior editor, assignment, tasked with sharpening the network’s newsgathering and real-time response.
Sundaram’s career reads like a tour of Indian media’s most formative moments. He began at Businessworld in 1994, moved to Zee News as bureau chief across Mumbai and Chennai, then joined NDTV in 2002 as part of its political bureau during a particularly febrile period in Indian politics. A stint as India correspondent for Al Jazeera International followed, where he covered key geopolitical developments and got his first serious taste of the global newsroom.
What sets Sundaram apart, however, is his serial channel-launching habit. At NewsX, he helped get the operation off the ground. At Headlines Today, part of the India Today Group, he served as editor. At News Nation, he helped launch the Hindi news channel and its digital ecosystem. He then crossed continents to lead the launch of ANN7 in South Africa as editor-in-chief, overseeing both television and digital. Back in India, he launched Tamil news channels News7 Tamil and Cauvery News, and later served as principal consultant for the launch of Marathi channel Lokshahi. Most recently, he helped build and lead the Press Trust of India’s video service and content studio, before stints consulting for Business Today and The Himalayan Times.
Rahul Kanwal, chief executive and editor-in-chief of NDTV, left little doubt about what Sundaram is expected to deliver. “The assignment desk is where a newsroom’s intent becomes action,” he said. “Rajesh brings a rare combination of field experience and leadership in building news operations at scale.”
Sundaram has reported from across India and the world, covering elections, civil conflicts, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 US presidential election.
At NDTV Profit, he will lead the assignment desk, driving editorial coordination and real-time response across markets and breaking developments. For a business news network sharpening its focus on speed and multi-platform delivery, it has hired a man who has built newsrooms from scratch on three continents. The assignment desk is in good hands.
