India’s Assam state got its own Doordarshan channel on Tuesday as Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar launched Doordarshan Assam, a 24-hour dedicated channel for the State, via video conferencing from New Delhi.

“The channel is a gift to people of Assam and this channel will cater to all sections of the population of Assam and will be immensely popular,” he said at the launch.

The Minister said that it is important that all States have their own Doordarshan channel. The channels of other States are available on DD Free Dish. The Minister applauded the programmes on six national channels of Doordarshan.

Re-iterating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of turning North East into India’s growth engine, Javadekar said that the region has immense natural and human resource potential, and the connectivity has been improving steadily.

The Doordarshan channel in Assam is part of a never-before focus on North East under the current Government.