By Utpal Borpujari / New Delhi
The popular Gyan Darshan channels are all set to be revived with Doordarshan signing an MoU with Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) for transmission of four educational channels under the brand. The channel is defunct for some time.
The Gyan Darshan bouquet of educational TV channels was an educational media initiative of the Ministry of Human Resource Development in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Prasar Bharati and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) with IGNOU as the nodal agency.
The bouquet consists of four channels, namely Gyan Darshan I & II run by IGNOU, Gyan Darshan III-Eklava run by IIT-Delhi, and Gyan Darshan IV-Vyas Channel run by the Consortium for Educational Communication of the University Grants Commisiosn.
Gyan Darshan was initially launched on January 26, 2000 as a solitary 24×7 hour satellite channel under the banner of Doordarshan which provided a Transponder on INSAT 2B satellite, free of cost.
It ran successfully till June 2, 2014 as a must-carry channel for educational programmes, but was shut down by ISRO to facilitate its migration from INSAT 3C to GSAT-10.
IGNOU now needs to apply for a fresh license to start the up-linking of its channels for GSAT-10 Satellite. Under the Up-linking & Down-linking Guidelines of the Ministry of I&B, IGNOU is not eligible for the grant of such a license.
Therefore, it requested Doordarshan to apply for the necessary license and permissions for the Gyan Darshan channels. Through this MoU, Doordarshan has acceded to the request of IGNOU and agreed to apply for and obtain the necessary license and permissions as are required for the telecast of Gyan Darshan channels from IGNOU Earth Station, Delhi to operate in C-band from GSAT-10.
According to Doordarshan Director General Supriya Sahu, this partnership would ensure that the educational channels of IGNOU reached and benefitted millions of students across the country. “I think this is one of the most outstanding initiatives in the field of Public Broadcasting,” she said.
IGNOU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Ravindra Kumar says, “Gyandarshan has always been a flagship programme for IGNOU and educational community. Both IGNOU and DD are happy and enormously excited that Gyandarshan has once again become a reality.”