Inclusivity Is At Our Heart, DD News Runs Programmes Daily For Hearing-Impaired: Prasar Bharati CEO Gaurav Dwivedi

Gaurav Dwivedi was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of public broadcaster Prasar Bharti in November 2022 for a tenure of five years. He is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Chhattisgarh cadre from the batch of 1995.

Earlier, Dwivedi was the CEO of MyGovIndia, the citizen engagement platform of the Union government. He has also held various key positions in the Chhattisgarh government. He has been awarded the Prime Minister’s Award for excellence in administration.

Ashwani Sharma of Outlook spoke to Dwivedi on Prasar Bharati’s initiatives to reach out to hearing- and speech-impaired persons in the country through Doordarshan and other mediums. He says that the Doordarshan has pioneered the programming for speech- and hearing-impaired persons and is working with experts at the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC) to make the communication more effective. Excerpts: 

Doordarshan has been a pioneer in revolutionising India’s mass media. When did the realisation about the need for an outreach to speech- and hearing-impaired persons come?

Prasar Bharati has always been at the forefront of media innovation. We recognised the need to make our content accessible to every segment of society, including the speech- and hearing-impaired. Doordarshan has been producing the only comprehensive accessible TV news for the hearing impaired in the form of a weekly sign language news bulletin since 1987. 

In 2007, India ratified the United Nations Convention on Rights for Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) with a commitment to the development of a barrier-free environment and enhancing accessibility. Soon after that, the Union government gave its nod to subtitled daily news for the hearing impaired on Doordarshan in 2009.

What was the overall impact of that initiative taken up in 2009?

DD News played a stellar role in taking this national service to the next level. Today, in the entire news TV industry, DD News is a major service provider of news for speech- and hearing-impaired people.   

How many bulletins do we currently have for hearing-impaired persons?

DD News broadcasts two daily bulletins dedicated to speech and hearing-impaired persons. One bulletin is of 15 minutes in the morning and the other is of 30 minutes in the evening. This is in addition to the sign language interpretation of special broadcasts on Republic Day and several other national and special occasions. 

DD News bulletins’ clean feed for speech- and hearing-impaired persons is also available for private TV channels across the country. We distribute them in the national interest and for the inclusive development of the nation. It is heartening and satisfying to see that today many private channels also telecast the news bulletins for speech- and hearing-impaired persons.

When did Prasar Bharati start its first weekly bulletin for the hearing-impaired population?

Our commitment to inclusivity dates back quite some time. Doordarshan started its first weekly bulletin for the hearing impaired on October 15, 1987. It has been 35 years since then and today DD News airs two special news bulletins. This includes a morning bulletin of 15 minutes that’s telecast at 7:15 am. We have also incorporated sign language interpretation in the half-an-hour Hindi bulletin ‘Desh Pradesh’ at 6.30 pm on September 23, 2022. It was later converted into a general news bulletin for hearing-impaired persons and is continuing in this time slot. DD News regional news units also broadcast news bulletins with sign language interpretation.

Do you have daily bulletins for this section of the population on national and regional channels?

Absolutely. Inclusivity is at the heart of our programming. We provide daily bulletins tailored specifically for the speech- and hearing-impaired audience both on our national and regional channels. DD News has two daily bulletins for this section of the population on national and regional channels. Other than DD News HQ, Regional News Unit, Srinagar broadcasts a 10-minute weekly bulletin at 4:10 pm every Monday. Regional News Unit, Chennai does sign language interpretation in important announcements and occasions.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has made it compulsory for all private news channels to air news for the speech and hearing impaired since September 2019.

Is there any estimate as to how many people have been reached out in how many states?

The average viewership of the 7 am slot in the last eight weeks is around 1.1 lakh. The average viewership of the 6 pm slot in the last eight weeks is 1.4 lakh. Many private channels also telecast the news bulletins for speech- and hearing-impaired persons produced by DD News which further enhances its reach.

Do you also have other programmes for specially-abled people?

Yes, Cabinet briefings, Independence Day, Republic Day, and President’s address to the nation etc. are also telecast with sign language interpretation. Sign language interpretation for Cabinet briefing started on DD News on September 8. For Republic Day, it started in 2014. For Independence Day, it started in 2015. 

The Prime Minister’s monthly programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’ is also telecast in sign language. For Mann ki Baat, sign language interpretation started in 2019. The term ‘divyangjan’ for persons with disabilities was introduced by the Prime Minister while launching the Accessible India Campaign on World Disability Day on December 3, 2015. Accordingly, the Campaign envisages providing features of accessibility in the three verticals of built-up environment, transportation sector, and information and communication technology ecosystem for the creation of a universal barrier-free environment.

This must have also created employment avenues for hearing-impaired persons as anchors, presenters, and news readers, right?

DD News has hired sign language interpreters on a regular contract basis in coordination with the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC), ensuring the quality of the workforce hired for its sign language bulletins.

Did Prasar Bharati conduct special training for sign language interpreters and presenters?

Yes, DD News has conducted training programmes for sign language interpreters and presenters to ensure accurate and effective communication as they join the organisation. We have also collaborated with the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC).

As the national broadcaster, what is the way forward to make TV viewing more inclusive and comprehensive?

Prasar Bharati under the chairmanship of Director General of Doordarshan has formed a Core Group with domain experts and stakeholders like CCPD, BECIL, C-DAC, IBDF, NBDA etc. for a suggestive framework and industry readiness, including availability of STBs/Remote/TVs for accessing such content by DHH and visually impaired individuals.  

In the fast-growing world, sign language is no longer a barrier. Do you agree?

Exploring the international trends and mandates on the issue of mandating accessibility in TV content for more insights in the issue, the UN Convention on Disability and Accessibility for the Disabled mentions the following important disabilities relevant for the media: hearing disabilities; seeing disabilities; ageing disabilities; cognitive disabilities; lack of controllability of the man-machine interface and ease of use of the receiver or terminal.