NEW DELHI: India’s public broadcaster is expanding its global reach. Starting this Republic Day, DD India has presence in North America, South America and parts of the Caribbean nations.

The pubcaster has signed an agreement with International Television Broadcasting LLC (ITV) of the US, which has a strong presence in both the Americas and the Caribbean countries of Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Jamaica and Barbados. This is part of DD’s long standing efforts to engage international audiences across continents and to create a global voice for India.

"Dissemination of Indian view on world affairs among Asian diaspora and Caribbean communities has been minimal. With our plans to distribute DD India through ITV in the whole of the USA and parts of Caribbean, this gap will be filled. DD India will be immediately available in the Tristate area," International Television Broadcasting chairman Sudhir Parikh told IANS.

Prasar Bharti CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati had also hinted at the development a few days ago on Twitter. “Happy to share that DD India is expanding its global footprint with new distribution arrangements kicking off in the US, Canada and United Kingdom on both OTT and broadcast platforms over the next few days,” he wrote.

The step is being viewed as PM Narendra Modi’s focused outreach to the Indian diaspora across the globe. In 2019, PM Modi met leaders of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), a group of twenty countries on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. During the meeting, he had referred to the presence of a million-strong Indian diaspora in the region while reiterating India’s commitment to strengthen its political, economic and cultural ties.

“Happy to note that Indians living in the United Kingdom, USA and Canada will now be able to watch DD India on Hotstar. This step will go a long way in expanding DD’s global footprint,” tweeted Prakash Javadekar, Union minister for information and broadcasting.

The agreement is inspired by DD India’s long standing efforts to offer an Indian perspective on global events by leveraging its network of bureaus and correspondents across India and the world. "We were always keen to expand DD India in all geographies around the world. The USA is among the initial steps and the Indian diplomatic presence in the whole of North America could help ramp up viewership. Visiting Indian dignitaries would be happy to see DD India. We wish to see DD grow with this MoU,” said additional director-general global outreach Prasar Bharati Sunil Srivastava.