Doordarshan to complete 50 years in September

Doordarshan will complete 50 years of transmission in September this year. To comemmorate the occasion, it flagged off a curtain-raiser concert, 'AR Rahman Unplugged', a collaboration between Doordarshan and the producer and presenter of the show, Phat Phish India.

Doordarshan had humble beginnings in 1959, when started with experimental telecast using a small transmitter and a makeshift studio. Now it operates more than 30 channels across India and an international channel abroad.

Doordarshan will soon commence HDTV transmissions on an experimental basis, followed by a commercial rollout, in time for the Commonwealth Games to be held in Delhi in 2010. Thus, Indian television viewers will be able to watch the Commonwealth Games on HDTV ready televisions.

Doordarshan's year-long anniversary celebrations will mark a series of events across all centres, which will culminate with the 2010 Commonwealth Games next year.