New Delhi, August 11: National broadcaster Doordarshan today kicked off its year-long Golden Jubilee celebrations with a music maestro A R Rehman concert as Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni promised that DD would broadcast the 2010 Commonwealth Games on High Definition format.
“Doordarshan made it humble beginnings in a makeshift studio in September 1959. In those there were limited black and white television sets. Colour TV came in India in 1982 and now I promise that 2010 Commonwealth Games would be broadcast by DD on High Defition format,” Soni said while inaugurating the concert, which is the first of the series of programmes lined up by the government to observe the 50th anniversary of the national broadcaster.
Soni added that DD has come a long way and has been witness to a technological revolution in the last 50 years.
“Doordarshan has expanded India’s reach and what was basically a culmination of Jawaharlal Nehru’s dream, now reaches more than three crore families. Our aim is to provide information and knowledge to all,” the minister said.
Minister of State for I&B C M Jatua, Doordarshan Director General Aruna Sharma and I&B Secretary Raghu Menon were also present at the function held at Siri Fort Auditorium.
The audience were later regaled by music maestro A R Rehman, singer and composer Kailash Kher and playback singer Hariharan in a glitzy function, who presented some of their choicest musical hits.
—-Agencies