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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF INFORMATION & BROADCASTING
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 3211
(TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.03.2026)
TRANSMISSION AND COVERAGE OF AIR AND DOORDARSHAN IN BASTAR
3211. SHRI MAHESH KASHYAP:
Will the Minister of Information and Broadcasting be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government is aware of the inadequate number of permanent centers/relay
centers of All India Radio (Akashvani) and Doordarshan in the Bastar Lok Sabha
Constituency of Chhattisgarh;
(b) if so, the details of transmission capacity and coverage area of All India Radio (AIR) and
Doordarshan (DD) centers/relay stations currently operational, location-wise including the
Jagdalpur, Dantewada, Sukma, Bijapur, Narayanpur and Kondagaon district under the
Bastar Lok Sabha Constituency of Chhattisgarh;
(c) whether it is a fact that clear broadcast of All India Radio and Doordarshan programmes is
unavailable or the signals are extremely weak in several remote, tribal and Naxal-affected
areas of Bastar;
(d) whether any proposal is under consideration by the Government to set up new All India
Radio and Doordarshan centers, FM/Low Power Transmitters (LPTs) or Digital
Transmission Units in the Bastar region;
(e) if so, the details thereof along with the budget allocated and the timeline proposed; and
(f) the special measures being adopted by the Government for the effective dissemination of
programmes in local tribal dialects (Gondi, Halbi, Bhatri etc.) and for broadcasting messages
related to education, health, disaster management and security in the Bastar region?ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING AND
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS
(DR. L. MURUGAN)
(a) to (f): Akashvani operates 4 stations in Bastar, Chhattisgarh. These comprise a full-fledged
station at Jagdalpur equipped with a 100 kW Medium Wave (MW) transmitter and a 100 W FM
transmitter, along with three 100 W FM relay stations located at Narainpur, Bailadila and Konta.
The MW transmission from Akashvani Jagdalpur covers the entire Bastar Parliamentary
Constituency, while the FM transmitters at Jagdalpur, Narainpur, Konta and Bailadila provide
coverage within a radius of about 10–20 km.
To further augment coverage of FM broadcast in the Bastar region, 4 new FM
transmitters have been approved for installation at a combined cost of Rs. 39.70 crore under the
Broadcasting Infrastructure and Network Development (BIND) scheme for 2021 – 26. These
include a 10 kW FM transmitter at Jagdalpur, 5 kW FM transmitters at Narainpur & Bailadila
each, and 1 kW FM transmitter at Kondagaon.
Further, DD Chhattisgarh is a 24×7 dedicated Doordarshan channel for the State of
Chhattisgarh, telecast from Doordarshan Kendra, Raipur. It broadcasts programmes related to
art, culture, heritage, literature, traditions, people, eminent personalities, news and current affairs
of the entire State, including the Bastar region. DD Chhattisgarh also regularly telecasts
programmes and news related to various Government schemes and their implementation. In
addition, programmes produced by the Programme Generating Facility (PGF) at Jagdalpur are
specifically tailored to the needs of local tribal communities and are telecast regularly on DD
Chhattisgarh.
Doordarshan’s Free-To-Air Direct-to-Home (DTH) service “DD Free Dish” is available
throughout the country, including remote, tribal and Naxal-affected areas of Bastar. Apart from
all Doordarshan channels (including DD Chhattisgarh), several Akashvani channels, private TV
channels and educational channels are also available on DD Free Dish.In addition, more than 260 Akashvani channels are available on mobile phones through
the “NewsOnAir” mobile app. Prasar Bharati has also launched its OTT platform “WAVES” in
2024, a multi-genre digital streaming aggregator providing infotainment content. Various
channels of the Doordarshan and Akashvani networks are also integrated into the WAVES
platform, making information, education and cultural content easily accessible to the public
across the country.
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