By S.Ravi
New Delhi, Jan 26 (IANS): India is reaching out to the Caribbean, in tune with Prime Minister Narendra Modis focused outreach to the Indian diaspora across the globe.
India's public broadcaster has now signed an agreement with International Television Broadcasting LLC (ITV) of the US, which has a strong presence in the territories of North America, South America and the Caribbean (namely, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Suriname and Jamaica and Barbados, among others.
"Dissemination of Indian view on world affairs among Asian diaspora and Caribbean communities has been minimal. With our plans to distribute DD India thru ITV in whole of USA and parts of Caribbean, this gap will be filled. DD India will be immediately available in the Tristate area (NY, NJ and Connecticut)," observed Sudhir Parikh, Chairman International Television Broadcasting.
It may be recalled that the Prime Minister had in 2019 met 14 leaders of the CARICOM group of countries on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. While reiterating India's commitment to strengthen its political, economic and cultural ties, he referred to the presence of a million-strong Indian diaspora in the region. He had also announced a $14 million grant for community development projects in the CARICOM and another 150 million Line of Credit for solar, renewable energy and climate-change related projects.
By leveraging its network of bureaus and correspondents across India and the world, DD India will offer an Indian perspective on global events. Thus, television audiences in the Americas will have the opportunity to see and experience the emergence of a new self-reliant India through the DD India, the global news and current affairs channel of Doordarshan. Moreover, the Indian diaspora in Americas too, will have a window into the latest news and events in India.
The Chief India Correspondent of ITV C Anand Velayudhan remarked, "epistemic trespassing by individuals on social media had left Indian origin people in a quandary. We have now overcome that dilemma by bringing DD to USA".
The Additional Director-General Global Outreach Prasar Bharati Sunil said: "We were always keen to expand DD India in all geographies around the world. USA is among the initial steps and the Indian diplomatic presence in whole of North America could help ramp up the viewership. Visiting Indian dignitaries would be happy to see DD India. We wish to see DD grow with this MoU."