Rama Krishna Sangem
Union Minister Anurag Thakur on February 15, Thursday made a strong pitch for exploring innovative options of broadcasting such as Direct-to-Mobile to ensure wider reach of content to all strata of the society and also become self-reliant in the sector. Inaugurating the annual Broadcast Engineering Society Expo in Delhi,
Thakur also stressed the need for encouraging indigenous research and development by nurturing scientific talent and fostering partnerships between industry and academia.
“New Direct to Mobile (D2M) technologies offer exciting content possibilities for terrestrial broadcasting not only to television but also on handheld devices such as mobile phones, notepads on any where, anytime basis, and that too without the need of Internet,” the Information and Broadcasting Minister said.
“We must explore and embrace innovative options of broadcasting like Next Gen broadcasting which shall not only ensure wider reach to cater to all strata of our society but also serve as a catalyst for ever evolving user experience,” the minister said. Information and Broadcasting Secretary Sanjay Jaju said indigenous development of broadcasting equipment was one of the pivotal pillars in the broadcasting sector.
The broadcasting equipment sector amounted to 20 billion dollars, a large portion of which goes towards imports, Jaju said, adding that the information and broadcasting ministry was working towards enhancing indigenous components.
“It is important that growth of the broadcasting industry is also coupled with the growth in local manufacturing and that would not just help us save foreign exchange, but at the same time make all these devices become affordable for the country,” he said. Jaju said the government has laid special emphasis on enhancing the ease of doing business in the manufacturing sector by decriminalising various provisions through the enactment of the Jan Vishwas law.
“It will be a constant endeavour to push ease of doing business and we will try and create a dynamic system in which we listen to your complaints and grievances,” the I&B Secretary said.
