The national public broadcaster Prasar Bharati has floated a tender for a consultant to come up with a plan to launch a channel with an international presence. According to Prasar Bharati officials, the tender is not a knee-jerk reaction and the idea has existed for a long time. The invitation for Expression of Interest was floated on May 13 for a consultancy service to come up with a detailed project report “on establishment of DD International”.
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The EOI stated: “In view of the strategic objective to build a global presence for Doordarshan and to establish an international voice for India, it is envisaged to establish DD International”. Further, it said that the EOI “is being issued for a Detailed Project Report (DPR) from reputed global consultants with experience in advising international broadcasters/media houses on projects of this nature”.
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According to the tender, the objective is to “project India’s point of view globally on contemporary issues of both global and domestic significance” and to “tell the India Story to a global audience”. It also intends DD International to be the “authoritative global media source on India through credible, exhaustive and accurate global news service”.
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It appears that Prasar Bharati intends to set up bureaus “across the globe” and the consultant will have to identify locations, plan a roadmap, and also come up with plans for “24×7 world service streams” and “prioritising geography specific streams”. Prasar Bharati also wants a strategy roadmap for “a Global News Service based on DD India content”.
