Vol. 7, Issue 9, Part D (2025)

“India lives in villages, if we want to develop India, the development effort should be started from the village itself”. By Mahatma Gandhi

Rural development is composite of development in agriculture, animal husbandry, health, education, women empowerment etc. Economy in rural areas primarily depends on agriculture and the farming community. In spite of sixty-seven years of independence rural conditions are not changed satisfactorily. Rural masses are suffering from the invisibility of even basic requirements of human being. Unexpected weather calamities, lack of access to information and resources, credit facilities, input requirement makes the situation more complex. Government has taken many initiatives to uplift the rural masses. In order to optimally utilize the advantages, it is essential to reach these initiatives to actual beneficiaries i. e. rural people by making it assessable. Mass media especially television has vital and significant role in speeding up the development process by making new technologies available right at the doorsteps of rural masses with an unimaginable speed and accuracy. Television is the best medium for spreading the information in local dialects about related programmes. Moreover it stimulates more than one sense which ultimately improves learning efficiency. Probably agriculture aspects are only taken care in Krishi Darshan television programme that is broadcasted by the Government on its exclusive terrestrial television network - Doordarshan. It is half an hour programme that is run five days a week at 6.30 pm. Krishi Darshan focuses on features, documentaries, success stories, research inputs, quizzes, crop seminars and a live phone in programme. Like other special channels (business, cartoon, news, entertainment), Agro News channel - a fully dedicated channel to rural people especially farmers must be initiated 24/7 and 365 days in a year in order to positively contribute to rural development through information empowerment which will surely raise nation’s economy.