India’s government-owned public television broadcaster Prasar Bharati has changed the logo and letter colors of both the Hindi and English channels of Doordarshan to saffron.
The updated logos officially came into effect at 12 am on Tuesday. Earlier, the logo was yellow and blue. Along with the logo, the channel’s screening color has also been made saffron.
Doordarshan came out with an explanation on the current change: “While our values remain the same, we are now available in a new avatar. Get ready for a news journey like never before. Experience the all-new DD News!” posted on DD News’s official account.
The post also states that they are bringing accurate and honest news. The Director-General of DD News claimed in the post that it is doing journalism of truth and courage with a new look and feel.
The alteration of the logo and text colors has sparked widespread criticism from various quarters. The timing of the action coincides with accusations from the Opposition, alleging Doordarshan’s bias towards the ruling party in its news coverage and programming.
Previously, Doordarshan has gotten into controversy over the airing of an interview featuring Narendra Modi and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
Prasar Bharati faced opposition to broadcasting the interview, with protests claiming it would breach the Moral Code of Conduct. Unofficially, the Election Commission indicated that Prasar Bharati lacked permission to air the interview.
