Vocal in the local area won't do it anymore, Modi government now wants a global platform to 'amplify its point of view'. The result? A new endeavour called DD International, set to be launched soon.
Doordarshan parent Prasar Bharati has floated Expressions of Interest for a consultant to prepare a detailed project report on how to "build a global presence for Doordarshan (DD) and to establish an international presence for India."
The move comes after the Modi government came under intense criticism by global media over its bungling in handling the Covid-19 pandemic. However, government sources indicate this move has been on the anvil for months now, and was cleared at the last board meeting on March 25.
The idea is to launch a BBC-like world channel, something that will put forth 'India's' (read: the government's) viewpoint for not just NRIs, but a global audience. Perhaps similar to China's CGTN or Germany's DW.
Interestingly, India already has a plethora of state channels, and it is not the first time such an attempt has been made. DD India was originally supposed to be the vehicle for this, and it was even renamed DD World for a short while. Beside the many DD channels, there were also two channels, Lok Sabha TV and Rajya Sabha TV, run by the Parliament Secretariat primarily for live telecast of its proceedings, which were recently paired down into one single news channel called Sansad TV.
Leading private broadcaster Zee group already runs a channel on similar lines called WION, which covers global news and current affairs from an Indian perspective, a la CNN and Al Jazeera.
For all lavish praise and kid-gloved treatment Narendra Modi receives from a majority of the domestic media, particularly news channels (dubbed 'godi media' by detractors), the going has been tough on the world stage. Global media lambasting had increased in recent months even before the COVID-19 catastrophe, especially over the crackdown on protesting farmers, as well as the internet blackout repeatedly used by the present dispensation to quell civil activism.
Time and again, the Centre has shown how ultra-sensitive it has been to international opinion, be it when pop star Rihanna tweeted against government crackdown early this year, or when international media went to town talking about Modi's egoistic endeavours like the Central Vista project. India's mission in Australia protested when a local newspaper The Australian ripped apart Modi's recent actions as 'viral apocalypse', asking the paper to publish a rejoinder. Official rebuttal was also made when think-tanks in the west downgraded India on indexes of freedom and democracy.
