Rajnath Singh plans channel for farmers

Want to sell a foreign limousine to a rich Indian farmer and a foreign perfume to Mrs Rich Indian Farmer? No problem. The government's ambitious Kisan channel will soon be here.

Meant to be for the farmer, by the farmer, of the farmer, the channel will have only one stipulation: that all content -- advertising or otherwise -- is designed so that it identifies with the traditional Indian farmer.

The Kisan channel is to be launched by the end of next month. It will be managed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research under the agriculture ministry.

Though the planning -- financial and logistic -- for the channel has been approved "in principle" by the government, Union Agriculture Minister Rajnath Singh is keen to put this project on the fast track. The proposal has already reached the finance ministry.

Sources say certain conditionalities will be imposed by the ICAR on advertisers and content-providers.

The channel, which may have a footprint all over the country, will not entertain any content (not even advertising) that does not conform to Indian traditions.

"All men and women appearing on the channel will be required to wear only traditional Indian clothes. Even the headgear will be Indian," a senior government official said.

In other words, Sunil Babu in the Asian paints ad will be required to wear a dhoti kurta and Preity Zinta and Kareena Kapoor will have to wear demure salwar kameez suits instead of western pajama suits in the "mausam garam, ham besharam" Pepsi ads.

The jury in the ICAR is out on whether Fardeen Khan and Saif Ali Khan's shorts in this ad should count as Indian or foreign dress.

Sources in the ministry say the channel is expected to be an effective instrument for disseminating information about various government schemes to farmers country-wide.

At the same time, the medium could also be used to educate farmers about the latest farming technology.

"Though essentially an educational channel, the Kisan channel's wider reach with rural masses is expected to win over a large audience," sources point out.

And no, conditional access won't be an issue here. "It will obviously be a free-to-air channel," said official sources.

With general elections due next year, the channel is expected to be a good investment for the government and the Bharatiya Janata Party as well.

Channel details

• The Kisan channel is to be launched by the end of next month.
• The channel will be managed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.
• The channel, which may have a footprint all over the country, will not entertain any content (not even advertising) that does not conform to Indian traditions.
• The channel is expected to disseminate information about various government schemes to farmers country-wide.