The two science channels are the first step in creating a national science channel for India. While India Science (www.indiascience.in) is already a 24×7 presence, DD Science may also be scaled up to a full-fledged channel in the future. Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister for Science and Technology, Dr Harsh Vardhan said, “Developing a scientific temperament is a critical necessity in a country of 1.3 billion and these two science channels will drive that national objective, both through DTH as well as the internet. It would also help people to understand the benefits of science and integrate it in their daily lives.
“India’s National Broadcaster Doordarshan, reaches out to more than 92 per cent of India’s population and would be a very impactful medium for popularisation of science. It would help the larger objective of the government to promote science among people” I&B Secretary Amit Khare pointed out. Science Communication is a significant activity of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and DD Science on Doordarshan as well as the internet based 24×7 Science TV channel is a major step towards this. It can help to increase science awareness and inculcate scientific temper among common people, DST Secretary Professor Ashutosh Sharma emphasised.
Doordarshan has been reaching out to people for a long time. With this collaboration, it will give us a huge boost to taking science to the people,” said CEO Prasar Bharati, Shashi Shekhar Vempati. Speaking at the sidelines of the launch Director General Doordarshan, Ms Supriya Sahu underlined the importance of Doordarshan and how its collaboration with Vigyan Prasar will escalate the dissemination of science content. “Expertise of Vigyan Prasar lies in developing science content that excites a large section of audience. The two platforms can help propagation of scientific information among a large population and gravitate the youth towards science,” Director Vigyan Prasar, Dr Nakul Parashar highlighted.
The two channels will have science-based documentaries, studio-based discussions, and virtual walkthroughs of scientific institutions, interviews and short films and will be completely free to access. The channels have been conceived and supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and implemented and managed by Vigyan Prasar, an autonomous organisation of DST.
