New Delhi: Doordarshan’s ‘Kisan TV’ channel, which would air programmes on agriculture for farmers, is likely to be ready for launch by mid-January next year.
Senior officials told PTI that the national broadcaster has set itself the “internal target” to ready the new 24-hour channel by the middle of January.
A recruitment drive is already underway to hire professionals for various positions ranging from marketing to production departments.
“Initially it was hoped that the channel would be ready for launch by December this year. However, since everything has to be set up including teams, studios, content and programming etc, it may take a bit longer and the tentative period by when all the preparations would have been made is now mid-January,” a senior official said.
Doordarshan’s ‘Kisan’ channel is one of the new ideas that the Narendra Modi-led NDA government had announced with regard to the public broadcaster.
Earlier in the year, Finance minister Arun Jaitley, who now also holds charge of the I&B ministry, had in his Union Budget 2014 speech, announced a new 24-hour TV channel for farmers that will be dedicated to the agriculture sector, with an outlay of Rs 100 crore.
It is hoped that the channel will be able to provide information which is of practical use to farmers but will be entertaining as well.
To attract the best ideas, Doordarshan had earlier sought suggestions from public and promised that excellent ideas will get awards.
