Doordarshan turns 60

Doordarshan turns 60

Doordarshan turned 60 on 15 Sept bringing back memories of a golden period when entertainment in the country revolved around serials such as Mahabharata, Fauji and Malgudi Days.

Background

• Doordarshan, which began as an experiment on September 15, 1959, became a service in 1965, when it began beaming signals to reach television sets in living rooms in and around the national capital.
• By 1972, services were extended to Mumbai and Amritsar and then to seven other cities by 1975.
• All this time, it was part of the national broadcaster, All India Radio. On April 1, 1976, it transited to become a separate department in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
• Over the years, Doordarshan has grown into a network operating 34 satellite channels, besides providing free-to-air DTH service having 104 in its bookings.