Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur on Wednesday launched the revamped websites of News On Air and DD News, along with an audio-visual network named ‘Shabd’, which stands for Prasar Bharati-Shared Audio-Visuals for Broadcast and Dissemination.
PB SHABD platform has been designed to provide daily news feeds in video, audio, text, photo and other formats to the subscribers from media landscape. Powered by the vast network of Prasar Bharati reporters, correspondents and stringers, the service would bring you the latest news from different parts of the country.
The shared feeds can be used for customized storytelling across different platforms. As an introductory offer, the services would be available free of cost and help the smaller newspapers, TV channels and digital portals immensely.
Reiterating the government’s commitment to delivering accessible and high-quality news through radio and television to every corner of the country, Thakur highlighted the consistent efforts of DD News in public broadcasting.
Elaborating the context, Thakur said that today was a historic day for the information and broadcasting sector of the country. “Over the years, Prasar Bharti has cultivated an elaborate network of news gathering from as well as news delivery to every corner of the country in every regional language. Now we intend to share this accurate and meaningful content with the rest of the print and electronic media industry of India”, he said.
The Minister further added that the news organizations will be provided with clean feed and will not have carry the logo of Doordarshan. This feed will curate content from all corners of the country in various languages. This will revolutionize the news industry and will massively support the smaller news organizations that do not have the benefit of an extensive network for content gathering. PB-SHABD will be a single point source of news content for all such organizations, he said.
He emphasized Prasar Bharati’s role as a credible medium in disseminating the changes and developments in India to a global audience as well as its extensive outreach in multiple languages across the nation.
Thakur also acknowledged the vital contributions of All India Radio and DD News during the COVID-19 pandemic and the celebrations of the Amrit Mahotsav of Independence.
Thakur said that the ‘Shabd’ platform would be open to private media for broadcasting, with the aim of delivering timely information in regional languages at state and local levels. Operating round-the-clock, the network will offer free services through Prasar Bharati, facilitating fresh news coverage through content stringers.
On this occasion, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Sanjay Jaju, speaking earlier congratulated the whole Prasar Bharti team for the pilot of SHABD and the new website and app launches. He further said that the portal will create a lot of synergy and will be beneficial in dissemination of meaningful news content across the country.
CEO, Prasar Bharti, Gaurav Dwivedi said that Prasar Bharti will make an outreach to media organisations and share audio, video, photo and text based information gathered by its network.
The revamped websites of DD News and Akashvani News and revamped News on Air app would provide users seamless experience and better user engagement. The websites will have user-friendly experience and engaging, has latest design elements so that users can have seamless experience.
Users can explore intriguing news audios, engage in special programs, and tune into daily and weekly special broadcasts. With its organized layout and diverse content offerings, the revamped websites enrich the news consumption journey for users. Dedicated sections include National, International, Education, Health, Business & Economy, Science & Tech, Sports, Environment, and Opinion.
