Northeast to get film institute, Doordarshan channel

Guwahati April 18 (IANS) Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday said that the Central government is planning to set up a film institute and a dedicated Doordarshan channel in Arunachal Pradesh.

Addressing a press conference here Naidu said that the proposed institute which will start from a temporary campus with an introductory 10-week course from May 15 this year will be set up at Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh.

The institute will also start similar courses throughout the year focussing on introducing northeast students to the medium of cinema and filmmaking as a career and enrich their skills in the domain.

Naidu said that an investment of Rs 200 crore is proposed to be made in this institute to benefit the students and youths in the northeast region. It is hoped that desirous students of the area would benefit from the institute which is being set up under the aegis of Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute Kolkata.

The ministry would also be launching a dedicated Doordarshan channel -- ArunPrabha from Arunachal Pradesh by August this year with the objective to seamlessly integrate the northeast and showcase its rich culture to the rest of the country. The focus will be on youth with contemporary entertainment and informative shows Naidu said.

The minister said that the permanent campus of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) at Aizawl would be ready by March 2018 and it will endeavour to launch contemporary relevant short-duration courses for students and specialised courses for journalists from the northeast.

This course would be conducted by a leading and expert journalist faculty across the country who have excelled in their profession he said.

To supplement the efforts of the public broadcaster 13 FM channels have already been operationalised and another 48 channels in 18 cities have been proposed. To ensure adequate participation of the private parties reserve price for border areas with population less than 1 lakh has been reduced and fixed at 5 lakh and the licence fee for the permission holders in the northeastern states is half vis-a-vis in other states he added.

--IANS
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