Learning about access to international markets and best farming practices in other regions –  The new 24/7 Green India infotainment channel

S. Ravi, The Hindu October 31, 2014 | Read the full story here >>

With the urban centres of India inundated with information thanks to the plethora of satellite channels, the focus of business, in particular marketing and communication, seems to be shifting to rural areas — in order to tap its vast and potential sections — with industry and media are all set to make inroads there.

An effort in that direction took place last month with the launch of a 24/7 Green India infotainment channel in Hindi with the objective of reaching out to the vast farming community and rural population and empowering them with relevant knowledge and opportunity to improve the quality of life. Pointing out that though a vast majority of Indians are dwelling in rural India every marketer wants to entice the urban people, Junaid Memon, the Director of the channel in an e mail interview comments, “Just count the number of channels we have for the urban viewer, over 200 for less than 30 per cent. None for those whose livelihood depends so much on information and innovation.” He points out that launching the channel “is the least one can do for this information deprived and often misinformed community”. […]

The channel is not dedicated solely to agriculture but rural India and purports to cover everything that impacts and influences the lives of people in thousands of villages. The programme list is exhaustive and includes agriculture, poultry, fisheries, bee farming, cattle farming, dairy, horticulture, floriculture, education, sanitation, healthcare and sports, each designed with clear focus. […]

The contents will also enable the viewers to have an effective perception of international markets and best farming practices used abroad and in other parts of the country.

Subjects crying out for attention like woman empowerment, sanitisation, child, woman health issues and environment, too will be tackled. Emphasises the director, “These programmes are not just cut and dry information. The attempt has been to make every programme informative, at the same time entertaining and memorable.” […]

The key software will be repeated thrice, not on the same day but within one week on different time bands, so that viewers can catch their desired programme as per their convenience. […]

Describing Green TV as a platform “which has two-way communication”, he explains that the “programmes are interactive and we are touching the grounds through all our shows every day.” […]

“The farmers and villagers are and will always be involved as integral part of the shows. The rural Indian is the hero of Green TV. It is his/her platform, voice and we call it ‘Mitti Ki Aawaz’ (voice of the soil).”

Though in Hindi, Green TV does not expect the language to handicap its viewership. “Our team is trained in visual communication. Our language is visual. Sound plays the secondary role, hence we are really confident that language will not be a barrier for us to communicate. We are trying to be very careful while designing our content.” He is sure that the northern, central, western and eastern part of India can be covered with visual language with the support of Hindi audio. Plans are afoot for a Tamil feed in about six months and he admits that “it is a challenge but I am sure we will overcome it”.

Eager to make its presence felt outside Indian boundaries, there are plans to launch the channel in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries. “We believe the region has a lot of similarities in food habits, the soil and agriculture practices. We can have knowledge exchange programmes and can open new markets for each other,” highlights Junaid.

He concludes, “For me, Green TV is not a business venture. It is a mission with a clear vision. Make the rural ‘respectable’.”

Over the decades, multiplying recreational opportunities powered by growing technology have focused the energies of the entertainment industry on the upwardly mobile urban elite and on aspirational India. […]

But now, with the recent launch of a new private channel Green TV, and with Doordarshan expected to unveil its dedicated channel DD Kisan some time next year, it looks like the fields are increasingly drawing the limelight.

Source: Going green…and how! – The Hindu
Address : http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/going-greenand-how/article6552282.ece
Date Visited: Sat Nov 22 2014 11:58:59 GMT+0100 (CET)

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