Govt DTH channels may beam into Tier-II theatres & other areas

Govt DTH channels may beam into Tier-II theatres & other areas

SWAYAM_Prabha1

MUMBAI: The human resources development ministry, through Swayam Prabha DTH, may plan to screen educational content in cinema halls if approved. The government is scrutinising a proposal for showing the content in theatres in small towns across India, ministry officials said.

The HRD ministry had launched 32 channels on Swayam Prabha in August 2016 for providing higher education, including three for students to prepare for IIT entrance examination.

The ministry is exploring ideas to relay courses through the DTH channel to cinema halls in urban areas having a population of less than a lakh and in Tier-II towns. Educational content could be shown between 7 am and 11 am or at a convenient time keeping in mind school timings of a particular area, an official told Hindustan Times.

There are several single-screen halls that remain unutilised. Mass viewing of this content on big screens by high school and higher secondary school students could have a positive impact. However, matters related to the project cost et cetera are still to be worked out.

The screening, idea of which was first mooted by NASSCOM, may also be done on Sundays and other school holidays, sources said.

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