NEW DELHI: The Planning Commission, part of the Indian government, has suggested in its approach paper to the 10th five-year plan (2002-07) coverage of television and radio services to the remaining uncovered parts of the country, particularly in the north-eastern states, border/hilly terrain and sparsely populated areas must be taken up and should be part of the actionable points for the 10th Plan.
The information and broadcasting sector‘s outlay for the 10th plan period has been pegged at Rs 51.3 billion.

The plan paper also says that digitalisation of broadcasting equipment and automation of production and transmission facilities besides replacement and completion of continuing schemes undertaken during the 9th Plan should be undertaken.

Interestingly it has been pointed out by the Plan panel that since expansion of coverage by terrestrial network for the uncovered areas would be quite expensive, particularly in the sparsely populated areas, alternate cost effective technologies should be looked into - technology like digital distribution of TV and radio signals in KU-band, a frequency in which normally DTH television services work round the world.

NEW DELHI: If it‘s not CAS, then it has to be DTH. The government is now examining the issue of "open architecture" and whether a thing like that prevails at all or not.
According to government officials, the issue of open architecture and its standards, if available, is going to be referred to the Bureau of Indian Standards.

A senior government official admitted that though the government is likely to push ahead with open architecture - much to the chagrin of broadcasters who are insisting there is nothing of this sort and encryption technology is proprietary - it may refer the issue to BIS which is also looking into the matter of standardising the technology for set-top boxes which will be needed in case conditional access system is implemented.

The mandate for BIS would be to see if there are existing standards for open architecture and, if possible, the alternatives available.

For long a has-been, Sahara TV is now gearing up to stand up and be counted. In preparation for a major programming revamp that is rolling out in September, the channel is going in for a new look on 15 August. Aimed to coincide with Independence Day, the channel will sport new graphics as well as a couple of new shows.
The channel also has plans to introduce a special weekend programming line-up within the next two months, says Sahara TV president Satish Menon.

Among the new programmes that are to be launched on the channel in a phased manner in the next few months is Parchhaiyan, a suspense soap that premiered on Monday. Slotted in the 9 pm prime time band Mondays to Thursdays, the Ravi Rai directed series starring Milind Gunaji and Reena Wadhwa is pitched directly against family soaps on mainstream satellite channels, says Menon.

The channel‘s Independence Day programming line up includes a mega entertainment show titled Bharat Parva featuring Bollywood‘s top stars. And continuing in that nationalistic vein, an hour long weekly show Mission Fateh, an ode to soldiers on the battlefront, launches 16 August at 9 pm. Each episode will feature the saga of a martyr fighting for the country in the unfriendly terrain of Kargil.

Among the channel‘s new shows lined up for September is an adapted version of the classic hit series I Love Lucy with retired former Bollywood superstar Sridevi in the lead role. Post-September will also see Sahara coming out with a strong weekend programming line up, says Menon.

The channel recently appointed SSC&B to promote its programmes, Shubh Mangal Savdhan and Parchhaiyan in a multi media campaign encompassing print, outdoor and radio. The task of making the new graphics and new look of Sahara TV has been given to graphics major Crest Communications, says Menon.