In partnership with other notable companies in the industry, Prasar Bharati has accelerated the process of creating an over-the-top (OTT) platform on which it intends to provide a variety of services. It is anticipated that the project will take shape early in 2019. According to a government official, e-tenders have been sent out to credible Indian bidders with the purpose of choosing a master system integrator to handle the OTT platform's design, development, implementation, operations, and maintenance. On November 1, the bids will be launched. The Notice Inviting Open e-Tender states that the contracted works are to be implemented for 60 months, with an estimated contract value of ₹166 crore.
Sources claim that Prasar Bharati is also looking at the possibilities of signing deals with other well-known OTT platforms to share content with as many people as possible. Last year, Prasar Bharati and Yupp TV, another over-the-top (OTT) platform, inked a deal to make DD India available in Singapore, the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, the US, the UK, and Europe.
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry's proposal for the Central sector scheme "Broadcasting Infrastructure and Network Development (BIND)" was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in January. The scheme is estimated to cost ₹2,539.61 crore and will fund Prasar Bharati's infrastructure development through 2025–2026.
Prasar Bharati is now allocating more than eight lakh complimentary DD DTH receiver sets under the BIND initiative in an effort to increase its presence in Left-Wing Extremism-affected regions, border and critical locations, and "aspirational" districts.
From the current 116 channels, DD Free Dish will soon have around 250 channels available. With an estimated 4.30 crore connections, it is the biggest DTH platform in the nation. As part of the plan, numerous of Doordarshan's earth stations around the nation will be updated or replaced in order to uplink HDTV programmes, and 28 regional Doordarshan channels will be made capable of producing HD programmes.
