Reiterating prime minister Narendra Modi’s call for ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat,’ 'vocal for local', 'local for global and 'make for world', Shaina NC, BJP spokesperson and Prasar Bharti board member, has said  that our national broadcasting platforms have excellent content and we must take pride in what we have.

Just like BBC and CNN internationally, as a public service broadcaster, there is a certain pride in our national platforms. “We have excellent content. Now it’s only a matter of repackaging. Be proud of Doordarshan, be proud of Akashvani, be proud of All India Radio (AIR).”

Shaina, who is also a member of the national executive council of BJP and treasurer of the BJP's Maharashtra unit, was in a conversation with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now, during the live webcast Sunday of the Visionary Talk series held by the public policy and governance analysis platform.

Speaking on various measures being adopted to scale up national broadcasting platforms and expressing confidence with the new Information and Broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur coming in, Shaina said, “We need to now move out of the past mindsets that only television series of Ramayana and Mahabharata can be our TRP generating strategies.”

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At Prasar Bharti, she said, they are working on plans to tap international platforms and cover international festivals as well as the broadcasting of scientific programs and programs like DD Kisan that highlight the plight of farmers as also how they can harness technology optimally. She spoke about a program called ‘Netri - Mahila Sansad aur Kahaniyan’, which she is hosting on Doordarshan and which is about the challenges faced by women and sacrifices they have to make to enter public life.

She gave the example of how AIR is giving coverage to Tokyo Olympics as well as its ‘noteworthy’ interview with sharpshooter Ronjan Sodhi. She urged people to use the new AIR news alerts app for a variety of very interesting programs.

Shaina said PM Modi’s radio program ‘Maan Ki Baat’ has garnered huge traction on radio. She also spoke about how Akashvani radio paid a tribute to the late actor Dilip Kumar through archives.

“Content is king. It is all there. Now the question is only about repackaging.”

Responding to a question if people of Maharashtra can now look up to and reach out to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray for his handling of Covid-19 as also helming the tri-party government, Shaina said her party had  the largest number with 105 MLAs and added, “Maharashtra  has handled Covid well which even PM Modi has appreciated. It is collective consciousness. Either you perform or perish.”

Giving her views on the Mumbai municipal corporation’s efficient handling of Covid, the Supreme Court of India praising the Mumbai Model of handling of Covid-19 and now a US Congress member sending a letter of appreciation to BMC commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal, Shaina said the officer is extremely efficient and silently keeps doing his work without getting affected by who is doing what. She, however, added that there needs to be coordination between the centre and states for achieving better results.