Doordarshan Logo

• 30 Apr 2024

Source: IE

Why in News?

National broadcaster Doordarshan (DD) has changed the colour of its historic flagship logo from red to saffron.

• Political parties accused the public broadcaster of adopting a colour closely associated with the ruling political party, especially because the change was made in the middle of the election process. DD said the change was only one of visual aesthetics.

What is the History of Doordarshan?

• About:
  • Doordarshan is an autonomous public service broadcaster founded by the Government of India, which is one of two divisions of Prasar Bharati.
  • Prasar Bharati is a statutory autonomous body (under the Prasar Bharati Act, 1997). It is the Public Service Broadcaster of the country.
    • Its main objective is to provide autonomy to Doordarshan and Akashvani to educate and entertain the public.
  • It was first aired on 15^th September 1959, as a public service telecasting service.
  • It became a broadcaster with daily transmissions of morning and evening shows in 1965, having transmission in Delhi.
  • On 1^st April 1976, it came under the Information and Broadcast Ministry and in 1982, Doordarshan became the National broadcaster.
  • At present, Doordarshan operates 6 national and 17 regional channels.
  • The signature Doordarshan tune was composed by sitar virtuoso Pandit Ravi Shankar and the master shehnai player Ustad Ali Ahmed Hussain Khan and was aired for the first time on 1^st April 1976.
• History of Logo:
  • The original ‘Eye’ logo was designed by Devashis Bhattacharyya of the National Institute of Design (NID).
    • The logo was picked by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the early 1970s out of a few design options.
  • The two curves represent a variation of the classic depiction of yin and yang, the ancient Chinese philosophy of contradictory and inseparable opposites.
  • Satyam Shivam Sundaram (Truth, Goodness, Beauty), the tagline in the initial versions of the logo, was removed in the later adaptations.

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