NEW DELHI: Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister Manish Tewari feels there is scope for setting up more news agencies in the country considering the growth potential of the media sector and the flow of information in the news segment.

Speaking at the 52nd anniversary celebrations of United News of India (UNI) Tewari said that the potential was tremendous as these agencies facilitated information flow at the sub-regional, regional and national level.

The increase in number of news agencies would not only enable local based news being highlighted at the national level, but also enable such agencies to balance news dissemination at the national and local level, he added.

Taking into account the diversity of information dissemination, such mechanisms would enable local issues being highlighted as prominently as those at the national level.

Tewari also said that there was urgent need to outline sustainable revenue models. Quoting the instance of the digitisation process, the Minister said it was an attempt to bring about transparency and a long term sustainable process in the broadcasting sector which would help all stakeholders.

The revenue models would also have to take into account the parameters that were addressing different audiences with the emergence of new media platforms and instant communication mechanisms.

NEW DELHI: Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari has assured Parliament that the time of Urdu news from the Hyderabad Kendra of Doordarshan would be increased as the need arises.

He said that 44 Regional News Units of News Services Division, All India Radio, broadcast regional news bulletins.

In addition to this, a Regional News Unit has been set up at Kargil in Jammu and Kashmir which broadcasts regional news bulletins.

In Doordarshan, 29 Regional News Units telecast regional news from its various Kendras.

He said in reply to another supplementary question that both AIR and Doordarshan regularly transmit programmes which help the farmer in learning about various cultivation techniques and keeping him updated about the latest in this particular field.

There are 48 regional news bulletins in 18 languages, which are produced centrally from the News Service Division of AIR. In addition to this, 181 bulletins in 74 languages are produced and broadcast from the RNUs, and this covers the 22 scheduled languages.

There are 1019 news-based programmes from RNUs in 21 languages which are broadcast. And this totally amounts to 117 hours and 15 minutes of programming per week. In addition to that, you have 290 headline bulletins from FM Rainbow in 15 languages.

He accepted a suggestion to make the news as local as possible and content rich and more focussed on local imperatives.
 
Tewari said in reply to another supplementary that Prasar Bharati had been taking steps to augment infrastructure both in terms of gathering of news and dissemination of news in Doordarshan and AIR. A process has been started of digitising the various studios of Doordarshan to ensure that the quality of news which is broadcast is of the optimum level and this project will be completed by 2017. A total of 145 stations are currently being digitised.

In AIR, there are complaints which have come in that the medium wave transmission is not audible, and that, to a certain extent, is correct because over the years, the power of the transmitters have gone low because these are legacy equipment.

A total of 71 transmitters have been replaced in the 11th Plan and the power of 33 medium wave FM transmitters is being upgraded to see that broadcasting becomes better.

Prasar Bharati is also in the process of recruiting additional people and 1150 vacancies have been sanctioned.

NEW DELHI: The 14th edition of FICCI Frames, the annual conclave of the media and entertainment industry in Mumbai from tomorrow, comes against the backdrop of increasing digitisation in both television and cinema.

The three-day event on the theme ?A tryst with destiny ? Engaging a billion consumers? will begin with Information and Broadcasting Ministry Secretary Uday Kumar Varma presenting a vision statement for the information, media, and entertainment industry in the country.

Uday Shankar, Chairman of the FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee, will speak on the theme, while the keynote address will be delivered by Andy Bird, Chairman of Walt Disney International. Dr.Soon Tae Park, Deputy Minister for Culture, Sports and Tourism in South Korea which is the partner country this year, will be the Guest of Honour.

Like every year, the FICCI-KPMG Report on the outlook for the Media and Entertainment Industry will be released during the opening ceremony.

I&B Minister Manish Tewari will be the Chief Guest at the valedictory function on 14 March, which will also feature ?Karan Johar in conversation with Kajol? and panel discussion featuring Uday Shankar and Kamal Haasan, among others.

FICCI Frames 2013 aims to deliberate on the growth of the industry and find ways to maximise both its creative and economic potential. The range of topics to be covered includes digitisation, censorship, marketing, exhibition and distribution.

?Engaging A Billion Consumers in the Media and Entertainment Industry? session on day 1 will see how stakeholders from the world of media and entertainment and policy makers share their perspective and vision on meeting the challenge in the face of emergence of new technologies and media platforms which have given consumers a wide range of choice.
 
?The Second Phase of TV Digitisation? session will discuss the dynamics of digital content and the future roadmap. ?Perception and Portrayal of Women in TV and Film?, ?Re-inventing Regional Content in the Digital Era,? and ?Single Window Clearance: Making India easier for filmmakers,? are among the other important sessions.

Being the 100th year of Indian cinema, FICCI Frames is also launching a film tourism initiative called ?Shoot at Site?, which will attempt to give participants insider?s tips on location-scouting, production facilities and services, and navigating through state-specific production benefits across India.

This year, being the 4oth anniversary of diplomatic ties between India and South Korea, FICCI Frames will focus on culture, tourism, entertainment and business between the two nations. Various sessions will tackle challenges in co-production between India and Korea, as well as potential avenues of cooperation between the two countries. Korea has transformed itself into one of the world?s most outstanding visual technologies centres with CGI and 3D. A 40 member Korean delegation is participating in the event.