Among the many facts about Doordarshan is that many people still remember DD’s ads and can even recite them by heart, whereas there are a few who did not know that Doordarshan existed before the rebroadcast of Ramayana. Either way, the importance of Doordarshan and its crucial part in dispensing information and entertainment is undeniable. Here in this article, we will discuss Doordarshan foundation day, the history of Doordarshan, and the detailed list of Doordarshan channels.
Doordarshan Foundation Day – The Public Service Broadcaster
DD was launched in Delhi on September 15, 1959, marking it as the Doordarshan foundation day. The initial equipment necessary was provided by Philips India.
History Of Doordarshan
The channel launched as an experimental broadcaster with a small transmitter and a make-shift studio. It merely covered 40 kilometres around Delhi. It was Dr Rajendra Prasad who inaugurated it. It was not until 1965 that regular daily transmission started.
Origin And Growth Of Doordarshan
In the beginning, Doordarshan was part of All India Radio. The duration of the regular telecasts was only 3 hours per day. In 1967, DD aired its first programme, Krishi Darshan, with the aim to educate farmers about the various facets of agriculture.
Gradually, over the years, the duration of the broadcast and the transmitter range increased. Radio and television were separated in 1976. DD became a national broadcaster in 1982. The number of people who watch Doordarshan fell sharply in 1991 with the entry of private channels.
DD came out of this predicament only after the rebroadcast of its popular shows like Ramayan and Mahabharat. In 1997, Doordarshan was owned by Prasar Bharati. DD remains indispensable for providing education, social messages and information to the public.
10 Interesting Facts About Doordarshan
The following are some of the interesting facts about Doordarshan:
- Who designed the Doordarshan logo?
The original logo was designed by Devashis Bhattacharyya, an alumnus of the National Institute of Design (NID) along with his friends. The then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, chose the logo.
- Who composed the Doordarshan tune?
The DD tune was composed by Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Ali Ahmed Hussain Khan.
- The first programme telecast on DD
The first programme telecast by Doordarshan was the 20-minute-long educational programme Krishi Darshan.
- The longest-running television series
Krishi Darshan is also the longest-running Indian television series in the history of Doordarshan.
- Doordarshan Ramayan record
The rebroadcast of Ramayana on Doordarshan beat Game of Thrones’ record of being the most watched entertainment program on 16th April, 2020 as 7.7 crore people across the world watched the show.
- List of Doordarshan channels
The following is the list of Doordarshan channels being broadcasted:
- National Channels
DD National, DD News, DD Sports and DD Bharati are some of the popular national channels.
- Regional Channels
DD has a channel for each state of the country.
- International Channel
An international channel is coming soon to the list of Doordarshan channels.
- Five-minute bulletin news
The regular daily transmission that started in 1965 also included five-minute bulletin news read by Pratima Puri. In 1967, Salma Sultan became the news anchor.
- Beginning of colour television
The speech by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on 15th August, 1982 was the first live telecast on colour television, in India.
- Doordarshan tagline
The motto of DD was ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’ which means that ‘The truth is the God and the God is beautiful’. The present tagline is ‘Desh Ka Apna Channel’ (The country’s own channel).
- Famous shows of Doordarshan
Some of the most popular shows of Doordarshan are Ramayan, Mahabharat, Shaktimaan, Hum Log, Dekh Bhai Dekh, and Malgudi Days.
Also Read – Congress Launches INC TV – Congress Digital Media Platform On Ambedkar Jayanti
Role Of Doordarshan In National Development
Doordarshan has played a major part in providing support to the socio-economic development activities of the country. It has broadcasted agricultural programmes, programmes for civic sense and public awareness, programmes for women, children, and family welfare, and also special programmes during natural calamities. These are merely a few examples of the broadcasts made by DD.
Importance of Doordarshan
The importance of Doordarshan is clear in its efforts to manage these development programmes by creating two separate wings. The Development Communication Division was established in March 2001 to concentrate on health and sanitization and other developmental issues while Narrowcasting was started in 2000 for dealing with agriculture and related subjects.
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Does Doordarshan Have An App?
Prasar Bharati (All India Radio, Doordarshan) is an android developer that was launched in 2013. It has one app in Google Play called NewsOnAir: Prasar Bharati Official App News+Live.
To this day, the country’s notable public sector broadcaster stays strong and shows no sign of becoming completely overwhelmed by the private sector.
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