NEW DELHI: Projects to set up five new High Power TV transmitters in Jammu and Kashmir are presently at various stages of implementation and are targeted for completion during 2017-18.

Stating this, Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiaih Naidu told the Rajya Sabha that Doordarshan at present has 243 TV transmitters of varying power functioning in border districts of the country.

Strengthening of the terrestrial coverage of AIR and Doordarshan to counter foreign broadcast signal along border areas is a priority of Government and is an ongoing process.

Special packages for expansion and improvement of Doordarshan and AIR services in the border areas have been formulated from time to time, the Mnister said.

All the areas uncovered by terrestrial transmission (including those in border areas) alongwith rest of the country, have been provided with multi-channel TV coverage through Doordarshan’s free to air DTH service DD Freedish.

DTH signals can be received anywhere in the country including border areas with the help of small sized dish receive units.

Freedish is now installing Indian Conditional Access System (iCAS) to keep track of the number of subscribers, and is also moving from MPEG 2 to MPEG 4 to enable it to increase the number of channels that can be carried by Freedish.